Dublin protests demand inquiry into death of Congolese man restrained by security guards

Fatally restrained by security guards outside a Dublin department store, Congolese-born Sakila’s demise raises serious questions about accountability• Don’t get The Long Wave delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereHello and welcome to The Long Wave. On a Dublin street two weeks ago, Yves Sakila died. The 35-year-old, who was of Congolese origin, was pinned down by security guards for almost five minutes after being accused of shoplifting a bottle of perfume from a department store. When the police arrived, Sakila was dead. I spoke to Dr Ebun Joseph, special rapporteur on racial equality and racism in Ireland, about what is being called Ireland’s “George Floyd moment”.The impact of Yves Sakila’s death continues to reverberate across Ireland. Joseph was appointed to give an independent evaluation of the government’s National Action Plan Against Racism, days after several protests and a vigil in Dublin. I ask her what the mood is among Black communities in Ireland. Continue reading...

Growing up in Dublin, I learned to navigate life in fight-or-flight mode. Yet even now, our leaders are ducking a vital conversationSeán Gallen is a Martinican-Irish writer and film-maker based in Berlin and DublinWatching the harrowing footage of what would become Yves Sakila’s final moments of consciousness, it is hard not to be reminded of the agonising death of George Floyd. Sakila was declared dead in a Dublin hospital on 15 May, a short time after being pinned to the ground by security guards outside Arnotts, a city centre department store.Congolese-born Sakila had allegedly been suspected of shoplifting in the store and fled. If we have any knowledge of what subsequently happened in the busy pedestrianised street outside, it is because video footage was captured by passersby. In these deeply distressing images, the 35-year-old is being restrained by a group of security guards for nearly five minutes. He tries to protest but his shouts are muffled in the concrete when one of the men appears to put his knee on the back of Sakila’s neck. By the end of the video, Sakila has stopped moving. Continue reading...

Yves Sakila died after being restrained by security guards ‘in broad daylight’Irish authorities have agreed to a second postmortem on the body of a Congolese man who died after being restrained by shop security guards on a Dublin street, prompting an outcry and comparisons to the death of George Floyd.A forensic pathologist from England is to conduct an independent postmortem this week on Yves Sakila, 35, an alleged shoplifter who was pursued and pinned to the ground in the city centre on 15 May. The police force, An Garda Síochána, is investigating. Continue reading...

It's been two weeks since a Congolese man died in Dublin after being restrained by security guards and protestors are still taking to the street. They want to see an independent and transparent probe into the death of Yves Sakila - with many viewing the incident as racially charged. Details by Eliza Herbert.

Protesters in Dublin demanded "justice" Saturday for a Congolese man who died after he was restrained by security guards, in an incident likened to George Floyd's murder in...

DUBLIN, Ireland (AFP) — Protesters in Dublin demanded "justice" Saturday for a Congolese man who died after he was restrained by security guards, in an incident likened to George Floyd's murder in the United States six years ago. Around 100 people demonstrated in Ireland's capital to call for an independent and transparent probe into the death of 35-year-old Yves Sakila earlier this month. Video footage widely shared on social media showed Sakila being held on the ground for almost five minutes by security workers outside a department store on a busy shopping street in central Dublin on May 15. Sakila, who had been living in Ireland since 2004, then became unresponsive before later dying in hospital. Irish police said in a statement they are investigating "all of the circumstances" surrounding his restraint and death. The probe has not yet reached any announced findings or charging decisions. A post-mortem examination has been completed by a state pathologist but the results have not yet been released. "We need justice for Yves Sakila. We need a proper investigation into his death," one of the protesters, Eoghan O Ceannabhain, a musician, told AFP. "I think there are lots of questions to be asked about what kind of training this security is given," he added. The case has sparked a strong reaction among Ireland's black and African communities, particularly those in the Congolese diaspora. Campaigners say the case raises wider concerns about the treatment of black people in Ireland and the use of excessive force by private security staff. "We are standing for the community to ask for justice," Ono Tambura, a 60-year-old Congolese woman who lives in Ireland, told AFP at the protest. Protestors at demonstrations have drawn parallels with the murder by a police officer of Floyd in Minneapolis in the United States in 2020, which triggered riots and inspired the global Black Lives Matter movement. While urging peaceful demonstrations, protest organisers have called for full transparency from authorities and demanded that all available security camera and witness evidence be examined. Other demands include the prompt publication of forensic findings, and accountability for anyone found to have acted unlawfully. Campaigners have also called on the government to address concerns about racial profiling and discrimination raised by members of minority communities.