On Monday 8 October, the trial against the 34 'pro-Black Pete' activists, who blocked the A7-highway near Joure on 18 November last year, commenced at the district court in Leeuwarden. They had wanted to prevent people who are opposed to 'Black Pete' from demonstrating during the national arrival of Sinterklaas in the city of Dokkum.
Lawyer Göran Sluiter is representing the victims in this case. They are members and sympathisers of the action group Kick Out Zwarte Piet (KOZP) who were traveling to Dokkum in three buses on 18 November, that were blocked on highway A7 by the suspects. The victims will excercise their right to speak during the trial in the afternoon on Thursday 11 October; Göran Sluiter will discuss the injured parties claim on their behalf.