Video footage has emerged in the Netherlands, showing police throwing a female asylum seeker to the ground and using force to contain a man, who was trying to come to her aid. The man is believed to be the woman's husband. The event reportedly took place at an asylum center in Zeist, near Utrecht, on May 19, 2026.
According to various online platforms, the woman seen in the video has been described as a pregnant asylum seeker from the Palestinian Territories, who was accompanied by a man believed to be her husband during the moment of the incident. There has been no official confirmation, however, about the backgrounds of the two individuals seen in the clip.
Initially, the event appears to involve a search and potential arrest situation of the male seen in the background of the video, thought to be the woman's husband.
Within moments of the woman approaching police with what appears to be a request, she is seen falling to the ground after being pulled away by an officer with a dog.
The footage then shows the scene immediately resulting in an altercation, during which the other man — the alleged husband — is seen charging at the police in an apparent act of defense of the woman.
Both the man and the women can then be seen being handled with considerable force in the video by police officers, though it is unclear whether the reaction on part of the officials is entirely unprovoked or disproportionate to the situation.
Turkey's state-run Anadolu agency has since shared the footage on social media.
Events leading up to altercation unclear
The nature of the woman's request and her brief communication with the officials prior to the violent exchange has not been independently verified.
Certain online sources claim that the police had come to the asylum facility after a resident, believed to be the male, had caused some damage to property upon learning about the death of a family member in Gaza in the Palestinian Territories.
The woman is believed to have approached the police to ask to stay with her husband during any potential detention, as the situation then appeared to get out of hand quickly.
Dutch media say that the man identified as the husband was in fact arrested after the brawl and has since been released.
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Police receive threats after video goes viral
Dutch authorities, however, said that the overall situation was characterized by threats involving a knife, according to Dutch public broadcaster NOS.
It is unclear whether these allegations of a potential knife attack relate directly to the husband, who at the beginning of the short video can be seen as initially cooperating with the police during what appears to be a body search.
In a statement, the police said that "[i]n a dynamic situation, they wanted to act quickly for the safety of those present and themselves."
Dutch police have said that they have received severe criticism and threats after the video went viral, causing authorities to disable the comment function on their social media platforms.
"Criticism and dialogue are good and important, but all standards of decency have been violated," a spokeswoman for the police said, according to the Dutch NLTimes news outlet.
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Woman claims to have given birth
According to unverified sources, the event is alleged to have then triggered the pregnant woman's labor, resulting in her being taken to hospital where she is reported to have given birth, potentially prematurely. According to one source, the woman claims to have suffered "health complications" on account of the force she was exposed to.
However, there have been no medical records nor other pieces of official information released to confirm any of these claims.
The Rijksrecherche, which is the department in charge of handling internal investigations within the police, announced that it would review the officers' use of force during the arrest, not commenting however whether this could extend to disciplinary measures against the officials seen in the clip.
"[W]e have confidence in the expertise of our colleagues and realize that they make choices under high pressure day in and day out," the police said in a statement.
Earlier this year, another video had surfaced on social media, appearing to show an official at an asylum shelter forcing an asylum seeker to kiss his boots.
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