Dutch police review arrest after pregnant woman thrown to ground in viral video
Dutch authorities are investigating an incident of possible excessive police force after videos showed officers throwing a pregnant woman to the ground and dragging her by the hair during the arrest of a man.
The incident happened at about 9:50 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19, in Zeist, a town near Utrecht where a temporary asylum seekers’ center is located. Police said officers had been called to a report of threats and vandalism in which a knife was involved.
Videos circulating on social media showed different parts of the arrest. In one clip, an officer holding a police dog pulled the woman to the floor, after which her husband ran at the officer and began punching him.
A second clip showed two officers dragging the woman across the floor, including one who appeared to pull her by the hair.
Police said the incident led to the arrest of a 30-year-old man from Zeist. They did not identify him or release further details about the reported threat, the vandalism or how the knife was involved.
Wesam Mekdad, the woman’s husband, said on social media that she was nine months pregnant at the time and that police and staff at the asylum center knew it.
“This is what happened to my wife and my daughter,” Mekdad wrote, calling the incident an “injustice.”
Mekdad said he is Palestinian from Gaza and that his wife is Syrian. He said they had sought asylum in the Netherlands after traveling through several countries, including Egypt, Turkey, Greece and Germany.
In the post, Mekdad said he had received a rejection of his asylum application, a deportation order to Egypt and a two-year ban from entering Europe. He said his wife also received a rejection and was told she would be sent to Germany, even if their child was born in the Netherlands.
Mekdad said he damaged a television and the door of his own room “in a moment of despair” after receiving “bad news,” but said he did not hurt anyone or use violence against other people. He said his wife told officers he would go with them voluntarily and respectfully.
Mekdad later posted photos of his newborn daughter and said she was in good health.
Police said in a statement that the videos showed only part of the May 19 incident and that officers were acting in a “dynamic situation” in which they wanted to move quickly for the safety of people at the scene and themselves.
Police said the use of force in the arrest will be reviewed based on the facts, circumstances and what officers knew at the time.
“At the same time, we have confidence in the professionalism of our colleagues and realize that they make choices under high pressure day in and day out,” the statement said.
— WITNESS ARCHIVES (@WitnessArch) May 30, 2026
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
