THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Dutch police said a small explosion Tuesday damaged a church near Rotterdam which had reopened in defiance of government Covid advice and where a journalist was attacked when reporting the story.
Residents of Krimpen aan den Ijssel said they were woken up by a loud bang around 4:30 am at the Mieraskerk church, scene of a scuffle between a churchgoer and a reporter on Sunday.
“Nobody was injured in the blast, but the front of the building was damaged,” police said in a Tweet, adding “an investigation has started.”
Dutch media reports said police believed the explosion was caused by heavy fireworks.
The Mieraskerk in Krimpen, just outside the port city of Rotterdam, saw hundreds of churchgoers return for a service on Sunday in spite of Dutch government advice to limit gatherings to less than 30 people.
Due to freedom of religion laws, the Dutch government is not allowed to intervene or impose fines over what happens in church buildings.
A reporter from RTV Rijnmond, who went to the church to report the story said he was kicked in the back and pushed, with footage showing a scuffle after the incident.
Another reporter of the provocative broadcaster PowNed was struck by a car as he tried to interview people outside the Sionkerk church in the central town of Urk on Sunday.
Urk, in the “Bible Belt” where the Dutch Orthodox Reformed Church holds sway, was where the first riots broke out in January against a nationwide Covid-19 curfew.
Four people have been arrested in connection with the attacks, police said Monday.
© Agence France-Presse
