Six people were arrested this Tuesday, October 22, during a demonstration of at least 1,000 people that led to a confrontation in front of a hotel for asylum seekers in Saggart, southwest of Dublin, after the alleged sexual assault of a ten-year-old girl.
Police officers charged at the protesters and used tear gas to expel them from the hotel complex, an AFP correspondent at the scene confirmed.
Irish police said six people were arrested and officers were subjected to “continuous violence”, with bricks, glass bottles and fireworks thrown in their direction.
A police officer was injured in the foot and protesters pointed lasers at the police helicopter, he said.
Protesters carried Irish flags and signs saying Irish lives matter and chanted “Get ’em out!”
“A breach of the State’s obligation to protect this child”
The alleged sexual assault victim was in state care at the time of the incident, while the suspect appeared in court.
Local media reported that the 26-year-old man was an asylum seeker and that the possible attack occurred at or near the Citywest hotel, which houses asylum seekers.
Earlier today, Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin described the events as “extremely serious and very, very serious.”
In Parliament he acknowledged “the anger and concern of many people across the country at what is said to have happened here”.
“It is clear that there has been a failure of the State’s duty to protect this child,” he added.
Justice and Immigration Minister Jim O’Callaghan “condemned” the riots, referring to projectiles being thrown at police.
“Unfortunately, the exploitation of a crime by people who wish to sow discord in our society is not a surprise,” he lamented in a statement.
Ireland and the United Kingdom have already seen violent clashes and demonstrations outside hotels housing asylum seekers in recent years.
In June, hotels were targeted and dozens of police officers were injured during anti-immigrant riots in Northern Ireland, following the arrest of two teenagers accused of trying to rape a young woman in Ballymena (north).
Source: BFM TV
