Five arrests made during two-minute silence, all now released

All five people arrested in connection with the two-minute silence on the Dam in Amsterdam on Saturday have been released from custody.

Four people were picked up during the Remembrance Day ceremony in the centre of the capital, while a 41-year-old man was arrested earlier in the day.

A 53-year-old man was arrested shortly before 8 pm. He is believed to have been planning to unroll a banner. Two others, with Ugandan nationality, were arrested a short while later. They were part of a group trying to focus attention on the current situation in Uganda, and had also demonstrated last year. 

Police also arrested a 24-year-old man from Nijmegen shortly after the silence. They had been tipped off that he said on social media that he was planning to cause trouble.

There was tight security on the Dam ahead of the ceremony because of fears that demonstrators would try to disrupt it. Everyone attending was searched and had to reserve a place in advance.

However, most of the 10,000 people who had reserved failed to show up, leaving just 4,400 people, including invitees, to witness the wreath laying and to observe the two-minute silence.