Activists banned from Hanos shops after police shared their details

The police wrongly gave the names and addresses of activists from the group Active for Justice to the catering supplier Hanos. The activists had demonstrated on 15 July at a Hanos branch in Nieuwegein against the sale of foie gras. Hanos later banned them from its shops.

Officers stopped some of the group after the protest and took their details. The data was then passed on to Hanos so it could impose the ban. In the letter, the police write: "Your details should never have been given to Hanos. We regret that, and we apologise."

The police also asked Hanos in writing to delete the data and all copies immediately. A police spokesperson admits a mistake was made but will not say where it went wrong: "We made a mistake, but we will leave it at that."

The College voor de Rechten van de Mens, the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights, says a leak like this can deter people from demonstrating. "Errors like this damage trust in the police," it says. It welcomes the apology and says police must be extra careful with privacy because they can ask people to identify themselves.

The activists say they will keep protesting against foie gras, now from the public road, since they may no longer enter Hanos branches or car parks. Producing foie gras is banned in the Netherlands, but importing it, as Hanos does, is allowed.

The ban lasts two years and covers seven activists whose details officers noted. The police had first told them they had not passed the details to Hanos, until the bans arrived. Last weekend the police admitted the data had been shared with the supplier, which the law does not allow.