Police in Amsterdam have apologized for their heavy-handed arrest of an elderly Moroccan man after he committed a ‘traffic offence’, the Parool said on Wednesday.
The man, who is 84, had his hands cuffed behind his back and was taken away in a van after his arrest by motorbike police on the Hagedoornplein in the north of the city. Police say they decided to arrest the man because he was not carrying ID and he appeared to be ‘in a confused state’. He did not speak Dutch or respond when questioned in Arabic.
In a statement issued after protests by his family, the police said that given the man’s age he should not have been ‘taken away like this’.
The arrest was filmed by eyewitnesses. Labour MP Ahmed Marcouch has called on justice minister Ard van der Steur to make a statement.
It is not clear from the media reports what offence the man committed. According to one report, he was cycling on the wrong side of the road. According to another, he was cycling next to a bike path.
