Court upholds dance party ban
16 November 2001
HAARLEM — A Haarlem court upheld a ban on the High Energy dance festival in Zaandam due to the drug-related death of a policewoman last weekend.
The decision supported an earlier resolution by Zaanstad Mayor R Freeman to ban the dance party, planned to occur on the Hemkade.
The Amsterdam owner of the Zaanstad entertainment complex, Zilpa BV, had brought swift legal action to the court on Thursday in a bid to have the ban overturned.
Zilpa had said the ban was purely an arbitrary decision.
Vreeman — who decided to close the entertainment complex due to last Sunday’s death of a 28-year-old woman and the recent death of a male youth, both incidents linked to drug use — said a final decision would be made next week in regards future festivals.
The mayor was pleased with the court’s decision, saying that the council had convinced the judiciary that the two deaths were not chance incidents, but were in fact systematic.
Vreeman will consult with police and health authority GGD about further measures aimed at preventing other dance festivals.
“I want to make this type of night festival impossible,” the mayor said.
[ANP/Expatica]
