These male politicians held hands in support of gay couple attacked with a bolt cutter
Male politicians in the Netherlands have shown their solidarity with a gay couple assaulted in a brutal homophobic attack by holding hands in public.
Jasper Vernes-Sewratan and Ronnie Sewratan-Vernes, who are both in their 30s, were attacked in the early hours of Sunday morning after a night out in the city of Arnhem.
They were holding hands while walking home when they came across a group of youths who started shouting anti-gay slurs at them. “They began to shout: disgusting, dirty, homo, such things. We shouted something back and walked on, but all of a sudden they came after us,” Sewratan told RTL.
“Suddenly I saw a guy pull bolt cutters out of his jacket and I heard Ronnie screaming: ‘Jasper, Jasper, they knocked all my teeth out of my mouth’.”
Politicians have now spoken out about the attack and heeded a call by sports journalist Barbara Berend for men to hold hands in public to show their support for the couple.
Ronnie Sewratan-Vernes and Jasper Vernes-Sewratan. (Facebook)
Labour leader Lodewijk Asscher and caretaker finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem also went for a walk on the beach while holding hands and posted the image on Twitter.
The move was repeated around the country by police officers, officials and even players in the N.E.C. Dutch football club. A series of anti-homophobia “hand in hand for diversity” events are being held in the Netherlands on Saturday.
Police have arrested a 20-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy in connection with the attack. Four more suspects have since handed themselves in to the authorities; three are aged 16 and another is 14.
Wij doen mee! Stop geweld tegen homo's. #allemannenhandinhand @barbarabarend pic.twitter.com/zsLY7Z0SqM
— Alexander Pechtold (@APechtold) April 3, 2017
Bijzonder dat sommigen reageren met "stelletje homo's". Klok, klepel. #allemannenhandinhand. pic.twitter.com/2kPR2TAfKH
— Lodewijk Asscher (@LodewijkA) April 3, 2017
N.E.C. keert geweld tegen homo's de rug toe. #allemannenhandinhand #handinhand @3FM pic.twitter.com/ADxjti0iMO
— N.E.C. Nijmegen (@NEC_Nijmegen) April 3, 2017
Let’s all join hands and make this a better non judgemental place ✋?????
Surprising for The Netherlands