Massive protests erupted across Europe last week as country after country continued to impose strict, freedom-killing restrictions on their citizens.
One of the most restrictive measures of the pandemic yet was announced by Austria's government on Friday. The government said it was implementing a full national lockdown and would also legislate forced vaccination for all eligible citizens.
What appeared to be hundreds of thousands of Austrians took to the streets of Vienna on Saturday to protest the draconian measures.
Some observers said forced vaccination of Austrian citizens would be a blatant violation of the Nuremberg Code.
The Nuremberg Code was written in 1947 during the trial in Nuremberg, Germany, of doctors who conducted medical experiments on more than 7,000 concentration camp prisoners during World War II.
Many so-called fact-checkers, including the dubiously named FactCheck.org, rushed to dismiss the claim that forcing an experimental vaccine is not the same as forced medical experiments.
Herbert Kickl, leader of the populist FPO party, slammed Friday's announcement as "unconstitutional" and calling on the country's top court to intervene.
"Because the government has failed since the beginning of the pandemic, the population now has to pay for it with an unconstitutional mandatory vaccination," Kickl said. "In almost two years, the government has not been able to develop effective strategies to protect the people. Instead it has set up new harassment week after week to curtail healthy people in their basic rights bit by bit. And now we have reached a level with compulsory vaccination that nobody actually thought was possible. We cannot and must not put up with that."
After Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg announced that Covid vaccination would become mandatory as of February, authorities deployed some 1,300 police officers to Vienna city center. They also advised people to stay home.
Fed-up Austrians had other ideas:
Massive protest in Vienna, Austria today against the new lockdown, plus mandatory vaccinations which the tyrannical Austrian government plans to implement starting in February. pic.twitter.com/bOjoBbjj5y
— Brittany Sellner (@BrittPettibone) November 20, 2021
One of the largest protests in Vienna history today to stop their full lockdown and mandatory “get the jab or go to jail” law. pic.twitter.com/N87zkDENZo
— Aaron Ginn (@aginnt) November 20, 2021
In the Netherlands, protesters swarmed the streets of Rotterdam after the government announced the Covid passport system, which Dutch residents need to do pretty much anything in the country, would be restricted to people who are either fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid.
Three people were hospitalized late Friday after police opened fire on lockdown protesters in downtown Rotterdam, reports said. Police attempted to control the crowd with water cannons. Dutch police said that 51 people were arrested during the demonstration against the new Covid-19 restrictions.
The protests continued on Saturday where a chaotic scene from the Hague was posted to social media:
#Netherlands The Hague pic.twitter.com/POZaZlQSNp
— Nicole Elisei (@EliseiNicole) November 20, 2021
In Italy, thousands of rallied in Rome against the country’s “Green Pass” – a certificate of Covid-19 vaccination required to go into workplaces, restaurants, gyms, theaters, and sports venues.
In Croatia, thousands gathered in the capital of Zagreb to demonstrate against the government possibly introducing a Covid vaccine passport that would be needed to enter stores, restaurants, gyms, and cinemas.
Croatia against Covid pass. pic.twitter.com/Mw41pSb68X
— Ivan Vilibor Sinčić MEP (@SincicMEP) November 20, 2021
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