Stock photo from Pixabay
Amsterdam

Netherlands: Explosive increase in illegal hand grenades

Hand grenades are becoming an increasingly popular in rising gangland violence in the Netherlands and the number of incidents involving the explosives has shot up in the past two years.

Published: August 28, 2019, 6:51 am

    Read more

    Violence with illegal hand grenades in the Netherlands is growing explosively. There are an increasing number of such incidents in the Netherlands with illegal hand grenades.

    More incidents have been registered in the past year and a half than in the complete ten years before. Researchers call the trend worrying and do not expect it to decline soon. And Amsterdam has not been spared the scourge that poses a threat to its inhabitants.

    Broadcaster RTL Nieuws reported on Tuesday that 23 incidents involving hand grenades were registered in the first four months of this year, compared with 42 in 2018 as a whole and just a handful of cases in the previous years.

    In total, researchers from the University of Leiden have registered 117 cases in the past 11 years.

    In most of the cases the grenade was left outside a cafe, club, shop or private home, or attached to the door handle.

    In 21 cases people were directly attacked or threatened with a grenade, resulting in nine people being injured, several seriously. Judges in the Dutch capital said earlier this month that people convicted of crimes involving explosives would face tougher sentences.

    According to researcher and criminologist Marieke Liem the Netherlands is facing rising danger. “For example, we see a huge increase in hand grenade violence in Sweden, and there were deaths. Including bystanders. If the trend continues, you could expect that there will also be fatal casualties here.”

    The researchers did not want to speculate about the reason for the explosive increase, possibly because of the fact that it may reflect on immigrants, a sensitive topic. According to them, the registration of such incidents by the police also leaves something to be desired, so that little is known about the motives.

    It is a headache for far-left Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema, who is responsible for public order and security. According to the municipality, the problems have taken on a structural character. “These incidents have a major impact on the affected entrepreneurs, but also pose a major danger to local residents and passers-by.”

    There are suspicions that hand grenades are regularly used as a means of extortion and intimidation. No fewer than two thirds of the incidents targeted a company. For example, grenades were found at several catering establishments, clubs and stores. As a result, such places were closed for weeks by order of the municipality, which led to a number of bankruptcies.

    Temporary cameras have been put up and buildings closed. By doing so, Amsterdam hopes to prevent new incidents. Given the fact that closure led to bankruptcies among victims, the latter measure is controversial however. The municipality says it is examining the situation per incident. Additional measures are being investigated with the police, the Public Prosecution Service and the Tax Authorities, the city said.

    The incidents that Liem and co-investigator Katharina Krüsselmann investigated took place in 45 different municipalities throughout the country, from Zwolle to Vianen. But especially in Amsterdam, the use of illegal hand grenades is on the rise. Almost a third of all incidents were in the capital.

    Earlier this month, the Amsterdam court decided to harshly penalize criminals who are caught for placing explosives in order to send a signal. If you leave a grenade on the street in Amsterdam, a possible 18-month prison sentence will be imposed, for which it is 6 months in the rest of the country.

    However, perpetrators must be found for this. And that turns out to be difficult with these incidents. Only one in five incidents in 2018 was resolved.

    Sweden’s national police unit tasked with protection against bombs in Malmö, has advised inhabitants to beware of unexploded hand grenades which are believed to be spread throughout the city, reported news agency TT.

    The Nordic country has experienced a sharp rise in explosions in recent years, predominantly related to conflicts between warring criminal gangs. The use of explosives in Sweden is currently at a level that is unique in the world for a state not at war, according to police.

    In addition, fatal shootings per capita in Sweden are now considerably higher than the European average. The country also has one of the smallest police forces per capita in the EU.

    Some 50 explosions were reported in the first three months of 2019, which is an average of more than one every other day. Over the same period in 2018, a record number of more than three blasts were registered per week.

    Consider donating to support our work

    Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.

    Keep ​your language polite​. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in​,​ for example​, ​Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.

    If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violation​s​ of​ any​ law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.

    If your comments are subject to preview ​by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.

    We reserve the right to del​ete​ comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.

    2 comments

    1. We need common sense hand grenade control.

      Comment by Rick on August 29, 2019 at 12:27 am

    2. What do the Europeans expect…Sweden is where it is all going.

      Comment by Nexusfast123 on August 29, 2019 at 1:42 am

    By submitting a comment you grant Free West Media a perpetual license to reproduce your words and name/web site in attribution. Inappropriate and irrelevant comments will be removed at an admin’s discretion. Your email is used for verification purposes only, it will never be shared.

    Europe

    New App Helps Locate Sweden’s Historic Runestones

    A new app called Swedish Runestones will help locate historical gems.

    Swedish military wants to remilitarize the Åland Islands

    The demilitarized autonomy has previously been known as 'the islands of peace.

    DESTRUCTIVE HAILSTORMS will become more frequent and violent with increasingly larger hail, predicted solar researcher Valentina Zharkova back in 2019 when she stated that it's one of many signs of an impending Grand Solar Minimum. This is exactly what we have witnessed this year in both Europe and the world. Here is the German town of Benediktbeuern in Bavaria after a hailstorm on August 26th. Almost all rooftops and cars were damaged. The centuries-old church and monastery were damaged for the first time ever. Interestingly, the monastery was rebuilt in 1699 during the Maunder Minimum. Combined with heavy rainfall, extreme weather will devastate a significant portion of our food production. For instance, heavy rainfall destroyed a quarter of all crops in Greece in just two days in September. However, mainstream media remains silent. Photo: X @safe0007/Sandor Feher

    NOAA Predicts Zero Sunspots for Almost the Whole 2030s

    CLIMATEThe United States' government scientific organization, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), predicts zero sunspots from 2031 to 2040. This is an extreme situation that has not occurred in as long as humanity has been counting sunspots, and it leads us into uncharted territory in terms of our solar system. However, this prediction aligns with the warnings of the world-renowned solar researcher Valentina Zharkova for many years, who indicated in 2019 various signs of this catastrophic phenomenon, including the extreme hailstorms we have seen in Europe and the world this summer. The forecast and various observations this year give cause for very significant concern. In this unique analysis, Free West Media explains why.

    NATIONALIST COLLABORATION TAKES SHAPE. Six parties met in Budapest on August 26th to sign a joint declaration confirming the friendship and political unity among the parties. The goal is to either form a new group in the European Parliament after the EU elections in June next year or to reconstitute the existing Identity and Democracy (ID) group with the new parties. Pictured from left to right: Mikael Jansson (Alternative for Sweden), Thierry Baudet (Forum for Democracy, Netherlands), László Toroczkai (Mi Hazánk, Hungary), Kostadin Kostadinov (Vazrazhdane, Bulgaria), and Josef Nerušil (Svoboda a přímá demokracie, Czech Republic). Also included is Mass-Voll from the non-EU country Switzerland (inset image). Photo: Free West Media

    European Nationalist Parties Forge Cooperation Ahead of EU Elections

    EUROPEAN ELECTIONSOn Saturday, August 26, representatives of six European nationalist parties gathered in Budapest. The meeting was initiated by the Hungarian party Mi Hazánk and took place in the national parliament. Representatives of the parties signed a joint declaration that not only reaffirms the parties' friendship but also their unity on a range of complex political issues. A surprisingly clear and radical manifesto was established. The hope is that this cooperation will lead to success in the EU elections and eventually result in the formation of a group in the European Parliament. For Swedish nationalism, this meeting marks a success as Sweden, for the first time, has a party represented in a leading nationalist cooperation in Europe. Free West Media was present at this historic event.

    Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson participated in the Pride parade in Stockholm where Erdogan was ridiculed, something that Turkey took particularly badly. Photo: Nya Tider

    Turkey Believes Sweden Hasn’t Done Enough

    Sweden will have to wait a bit longer for NATO membership, according to Turkey's Justice Minister Jilmaz Tunc. First, Sweden must extradite the "terrorists" Turkey wants and stop the desecration of the Quran.

    Ka-52 crashes after being hit by a Swedish RBS 70. Russian sources report that one of the two pilots died in the crash. Image: Telegram

    Swedish Weapon Takes Down Russia’s Best Attack Helicopter

    The Russian attack helicopter Ka-52 is considered one of the world's best and has struck fear in Ukraine, where it has hunted down tanks and other armored vehicles, often beyond the range of many light anti-aircraft systems. However, it has met its match in the Swedish air defense missile system RBS 70, which has quickly led to significant losses for the Russian helicopter forces.

    The Sun has been found to be the main driver behind Earth's cliamte - and it's getting colder. Photo: iStockPhoto

    The Sun Drives Earth’s Climate, Not Carbon Dioxide

    Top Researchers Push Back Against Climate Lies."The correlation is as clear as day," explained the Israeli astrophysicist Nir Shaviv, who was hailed by the establishment, before his interview with Forbes was hastily deleted. What he says contradicts the climate narrative, which points to humans as responsible for Earth's climate. Shaviv firmly asserts that it is the sun that controls the climate, something that can be scientifically proven in many ways. Contrary to the popular belief, the sun's influence on Earth has, in recent years, caused unusually cold and rainy weather, a trend that solar researchers warn will worsen significantly in the coming decades. The sun has exhibited an unusually low activity since 2016, during Solar Cycle 24, which was the weakest in a century.

    Alternative for Germany held its conference during the last weekend of July in the thousand-year-old city of Magdeburg, located by the Elbe River in the eastern German state of Saxony. The first of the two conference days began with a strong program speech by the party's male spokesperson. Subsequently, party officials were elected and motions were addressed. The second day was entirely devoted to candidate selection and positioning for the EU election in June next year. Screenshot: AfD on Facebook

    Strong Confidence in German AfD

    Alternative for Germany (AfD) held a party conference on July 29-30 to select candidates for the upcoming EU election next year. EU Parliament member Maximilian Krah, belonging to the party's more radical, ethnonationalist faction, was appointed as the top candidate. The party's two spokespersons delivered powerful speeches criticizing the EU's failed migration policy and trade sanctions that isolate Europe and Germany from the rest of the world. They argued that it's time for the EU to return a significant portion of its power to national parliaments. However, they have dropped the demand for Germany to exit the EU.

    Maximilian Krah is one of the AfD politicians who is singled out as an ethnonationalist, as he has stated that there is a distinction between ethnic Germans and immigrants who have obtained German citizenship. Krah is a Member of the European Parliament and AfD's top candidate for the upcoming European Union election next year. Still image: AfD on Facebook

    The Establishment Wants to Ban Germany’s Second Largest Party – for the Sake of Democracy

    The rising popularity of AfD has raised strong concerns within the establishment. Despite lies and demonization in the media and isolation from the overall political establishment, the party continues to grow. Certain representatives of the party are accused of becoming increasingly "extreme," and in an unusual move, the influential weekly newspaper Der Spiegel demanded that AfD be "banned."

    FvD was quick to support the protests against covid restrictions. Today, the party also stands behind the farmers protests against the governments’ plans to close a big portion of the farms in the country for the sake of “climate”. The picture is from a protest against covid restrictions in Amsterdam in January of last year. Photo: Wion

    Dutch FvD break through the media blockade

    What is happening in the Netherlands? It is often difficult to follow events in other countries, especially when distorted by system media. We give Forum for Democracy (FvD) the opportunity to speak out on the political situation in the Netherlands and the staunch resistance they face in trying to save the country.

    Go to archive