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Netherlands: Dutch riot police beat demonstrators protesting new asylum center in brutal crackdown, one victim left unconscious after baton attack

Videos show riot police beating children and defenseless protesters who took to the streets against a new asylum center in the small town of Loosdrecht

By Remix News Staff
11 Min Read

For three consecutive nights, locals in the Dutch city of Loosdrecht have protested against a proposed asylum seekers’ center, resulting in serious police violence targeting the protesters with baton charges, which left at least one protester unconscious on the pavement, which was caught on film.

The North Holland police response resulted in at least two arrests and left one officer injured, according to the municipality of Wijdemeren. Protesters are fighting against the arrival of 110 asylum seekers in their small town of approximately 8,000 people. However, scenes of violence involving riot police have spread across social media. Former MEP Robert Roos condemned the police violence, writing on X:

“A baton may only be used in cases of necessity, proportionately, and aimed at less vulnerable areas (arms/legs). Striking someone until they are unconscious raises serious questions: was there really acute danger, or has the boundary been crossed here?”

Roos also asks. “Also highly concerning, someone who is unconscious should be placed in the stable side position to prevent suffocation. Why does the police just leave him lying there?”

Commentator and activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek praised the protests when they first got started days ago, writing: “Hundreds of migrants are to be moved to a location in Loosdrecht – a small town close to where I grew up. The locals were not given any say of course and took to the streets in protest. Glad to see the true Dutch fighting spirit isn’t gone completely. Go, my fellow countrymen! Enough is enough.”

However, since then, police violence has exploded against the protesters as the protests continued, including images recorded yesterday of riot police hitting children forcefully with batons.

On Wednesday evening, several hundred people also gathered at the vacant town hall intended for asylum accommodation. The municipality reported that heavy fireworks were detonated, and demonstrators threw eggs and projectiles. A manure tank was spotted nearby displaying a poster of Mayor Mark Verheijen that read: “If you don’t care about us, then we have that for you too!!!”

Police, however, have also targeted what appeared to be peaceful demonstrators, including on side streets away from the main demonstration.

The municipality of Wijdemeren stated that the demonstration turned grim just after 8:30 p.m., prompting Mayor Verheijen to issue an emergency order. Riot police engaged the crowd, ordering them to disperse under the threat of using police dogs and batons. Demonstrators fled into surrounding neighborhoods and regrouped at a nearby roundabout before officers with dogs forced them to leave the area entirely.

However, the protests appear to have temporarily slowed down the arrival of the asylum seekers. Due to the unrest and a lack of police capacity, the municipality decided on Wednesday to postpone the arrival of asylum seekers at the town hall. However, authorities are now signaling they will be moved in at the end of May.

Regarding the arrests made during Tuesday’s protest, police reported that of the eight people detained, two remained in custody as of Wednesday. A 23-year-old man from Loosdrecht is held for open assault after throwing a smoke bomb at the building, while a 49-year-old man is in custody for insult and threat.

The reception body COA had initially planned to move the first of 110 residents into the facility that same day. However, following consultations with the police and the Public Prosecution Service, officials concluded that security and safety could not be guaranteed.

During an emergency court hearing, the municipality stated that the capacity shortage is linked to the upcoming King’s Day holiday. “That requires a lot of police. It is not that hundreds of officers are needed at the location at the town hall, but within a municipality, you can only deploy the police once,” the municipality noted.

Residents say they are angry about the way they are being treated, including one who spoke to De Telegraaf, stating that any time there is a problem with residents, police are slow to respond, but now that residents are protesting against the asylum seekers, whole platoons are showing up.

“If we call the moment something happens here, no officer will come here. Then they are always busy. As soon as something is going on around asylum seekers, there is suddenly a whole platoon available,” he told the paper.

In the article, journalist Marcel Vink writes: “The VVD mayor is certainly not popular in Loosdrecht. Mark Verheijen is the head of the local administration, and it’s the place known as a quiet, green and watery that mainly revolves around nature and recreation. This carefree atmosphere is now threatened, and residents fear this will disappear if a large group of young male asylum seekers are indeed housed in the former town hall, which, according to several residents, has secretly received a lot of paint in the past period.”

Fears of migrant crime backed by data

In the Netherlands, crimes involving migrants and those with a migration background reach nearly 50 percent of all crime, according to CBS government data. Crimes like murder have also jumped. Over the last decade, the number of homicides fluctuated between 110 and 130 cases per year. However, 2024 and 2025 saw an upward tick, with figures approaching 140 to 150.

The number of registered sexual offenses has risen by over 35 percent since 2016. In 2024-2025, police registered record numbers of rapes and sexual assaults.

While people with a migration background make up about 45 percent of all crime suspects, that share rises to 55 percent among adults sentenced to prison and 67 percent among juveniles sentenced to detention, suggesting they are disproportionately involved in the more serious crimes that actually result in custodial sentences.

In recent years, high-profile murders and rapes involving male asylum seekers have also shaken the Netherlands, including the case of 17-year-old Lisa and many others.

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