The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) has condemned what it described as the careless treatment of prominent human rights activist Agather Atuhaire by Dutch immigration officers at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.
HRF said the incident “triggered serious traumatic mental distress from her well-known May 2025 illegal detention and torture in Tanzania.”
In a statement released on Friday through its X (formerly Twitter) account, HRF called for a full investigation into the incident and said Atuhaire is owed apologies and compensation by both Dutch immigration authorities and KLM for the emotional distress she suffered.
According to HRF, Atuhaire was travelling from Oslo, Norway, after attending the 2026 Oslo Freedom Forum organised by the Foundation.
The activist, who was a keynote speaker at the 2024 Oslo Freedom Forum, was connecting through Amsterdam on her way to Nairobi, Kenya.
HRF said Atuhaire’s KLM flight from Oslo was delayed, leaving her rushing to catch her connecting flight at Schiphol Airport.
The Foundation stated that upon arrival at passport control, a Dutch passport control officer seized Atuhaire’s passport without opening it and handed it to a colleague, saying they needed to verify that it was not fake.
According to the statement, Atuhaire was then escorted to wait outside an immigration office while checks were carried out.
HRF said Atuhaire attempted to explain that she had previously transited through Amsterdam multiple times and urged the officers to search her name online and check her details in the system.
However, the organisation said her efforts to communicate were ignored.
After waiting for at least 30 minutes, HRF said two officers returned Atuhaire’s passport and escorted her to a KLM desk where she was rebooked onto another flight departing 24 hours later.
The Foundation stated that the officers did not apologise and instead asked Atuhaire whether she would pay for a hotel or spend the night at the airport.
HRF further alleged that KLM did not offer any apology or accommodation despite the fact that she missed her connecting flight through no fault of her own.
According to the statement, the incident caused Atuhaire to suffer an emotional breakdown, resurfacing trauma from her abduction and torture by Tanzanian security agents in May 2025.
“I tried to express my anger but couldn’t. I couldn’t speak. I suddenly had this sharp pain in my chest and collapsed to the ground and started to shake and cry uncontrollably,” she reportedly said.
HRF said the treatment she received at Schiphol Airport triggered serious traumatic mental distress connected to her previous experience in Tanzania.
The organisation called for a full investigation into the actions of the immigration officers involved and maintained that both Dutch immigration authorities and KLM should apologise to Atuhaire and compensate her for the emotional distress caused by the incident.
“HRF calls for a full investigation and believes Atuhaire is owed apologies and compensation by both Dutch immigration and KLM for undue emotional distress,” the statement read.
