In the Netherlands, a court ruled in favor of squatters who settled in a building in the center of Amsterdam. A fight won because of the sanctions currently in progress against Russia or its nationals, because the building belongs to the very rich Arkadi Voloj, the co-founder of Yandex, the “Russian Google”. On paper, however, it was the earthen pot against the iron pot.
With our correspondent in Brussels, Jean-Jacques Hery
On one side, a gang of squatters who are taking over a luxurious five-storey building – currently unoccupied and under renovation – in the heart of the historic center of Amsterdam. On the other, the owner of the premises, Arkadi Voloj, a Russian oligarch who demanded their expulsion and launched legal action. Except that this character was sanctioned by the European Unionwho believes that he supported materially or financially Moscow in its war against Ukraine.
And that’s what changed everything for the court, according to one of the squatters’ lawyers, Heleen over de Linden: ” Without the sanctions, it is 100% certain that the squatters would have been pushed out. But the scope of the sanctions is wide, it includes the freezing of assets but also buildings and their renovation. This is what is at stake in the case we are talking about. The renovation would then allow the building to be sold or rented, but anything that is likely to make the sanctioned owner richer is prohibited. “.
Anti-capitalist and anti-war banners
And so the squatters were allowed to stay, in the name of the right to housing, even though squatting has been a crime since 2010 in the Netherlands.
There will certainly be an appeal trial, but the lawyer says she is very confident. On site today, anti-war and anti-capitalist banners can be seen from outside the building.