Ambassador contacts German officials after Irish activist 'punched in the face by police' during Gaza protest in Berlin

Irish activist Kitty O'Brien was struck multiple times in the face by German police and dragged from a Berlin protest against the deliberate killing of journalists in Gaza. Videos posted on Instagram show O'Brien clutching a bloody nose, raising bloodied hands, and shouting "Their blood is on your hands" before officers pulled them away. The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs said Ambassador Maeve Collins and senior officials conveyed concern to German authorities and offered consular assistance if requested. The Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign condemned the police action as indefensible and demanded government intervention.

Footage emerged of the Irish activist being repeatedly punched in the face by police at a protest in Berlin against "the deliberate killing of journalists in Gaza" on Thursday. A series of videos posted by IrishBlocBerlin on Instagram show Kitty O'Brien clutching their nose before lifting their bloodied hands to German police while shouting: "Their blood is on your hands." The footage then shows the activist being dragged from the crowd by two police officers.

The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Maeve Collins, the Ambassador of Ireland to Germany, and senior officials in the Department "have conveyed our concern about the incident to German authorities". "The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is aware of the incident in question," a spokesperson said. "Officials in the Department stand ready to provide consular assistance to the citizen concerned, should they request it."

Berlin police have been accused of "brutalising and leaving an Irish activist bloodied", with the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign group describing the officers' actions as "indefensible". "This is the latest shameful incident in a laundry list of brutal attacks on peaceful Palestine protesters," it said. "Germany is broadcasting to the world their complicity in genocide in both word and deed. Kitty was simply protesting and doing their duty in upholding international law, an obligation that the German state repeatedly chooses to ignore.

Read at Irish Independent