Sunday,
26 July 2026 - 15:35
‘Attack
on free and tolerant society’: Dutch leaders condemn deadly Berlin Pride attack
Leaders
strongly condemned a van attack at Berlin’s Pride celebration that killed one
person and injured 29 others late Saturday, calling it an assault on free and
tolerant society. No Dutch nationals were among the victims, the Dutch Foreign
Ministry said Sunday. German authorities described the attack as a terrorist
attack by a 21-year-old Islamic State (IS) supporter who remains at large.
Amsterdam
Mayor Femke Halsema called the news “horrific” and “an attack on the freedom
that we in Amsterdam also celebrate grandly these weeks.” She said she
understood it could provoke anger as well as fear and concern among visitors
and participants at WorldPride.
After
consulting the local triangle of police, mayor, and prosecutors, as well as the
organizers, the mayor said authorities would take extra security measures at
WorldPride, which is currently taking place in Amsterdam. It is not clear what
specific measure will be enacted, but the security situation is being closely
monitored, Halsema said.
Prime
Minister Rob Jetten called the incident "an outright attack on our free
and tolerant society” and “a horrific act of aggression,” offering condolences
to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and saying the Netherlands stands “shoulder
to shoulder with our German neighbors” in difficult times.
Justice
Minister David van Weel described it as a “cowardly and despicable attack,”
stating that “an attack on the LGBTQIA+ community is an attack on our values”
and that such incidents fit the current threat picture, with Dutch local
authorities alert and taking measures as needed. State Secretary for
Emancipation Judith Tielen expressed sympathy, saying “a celebration of love
ends in a terrible drama.”
“Our
hearts are with Berlin. With great dismay we have learned of the tragic news
about the attack,” the Pride Amsterdam organization wrote in a statement. “Our
thoughts are with the victims, their loved ones, and the entire LGBTQIA+
community in Berlin. In times like these we feel all the more how important it
is that we continue to support each other and stand up together for love,
freedom, and safety.”
Additionally,
a minute of silence will be observed at Amsterdam's Milkshake Festival for the
victims of the Berlin attack on Sunday.
The
German attack struck during Berlin’s Christopher Street Day, one of Europe’s
largest LGBTQIA+ events. Hundreds of thousands were reportedly in attendance.
German
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said authorities assume it was an Islamist
terror attack, saying that “everything points to that.” The suspect, identified
as Abdul B., was born in Germany in 2005 and holds German nationality.
According
to German media, he is an Islamic State supporter who traveled to the Middle
East last year in a failed attempt to join Islamic State. He was later
convicted of related crimes after returning to Germany and was released from
youth detention in May.
Berlin
Mayor Kai Wegner called it “an attack on our free and cosmopolitan society,”
saying, "After a peaceful and colorful Christopher Street Day, the
gathering for a tolerant and peaceful Berlin was brutally attacked. Berlin is
the city of freedom, and that freedom was attacked in the most terrible way
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