IRISH officials have expressed their 'concern' to German authorities after an Irish protestor was punched and left bloodied by a police officer in Berlin.
The incident, which has drawn condemnation from several Irish politicians and protest groups, occurred on Thursday during a protest in the German capital in support of Palestine.
The injured person, Dubliner Kitty O'Brien, is a member of protest group Irish Bloc Berlin.
Footage shared online showed police pushing activists back as O'Brien is seen calling officers 'genocide supporters' and accusing one of 'acting like a Nazi'.
An officer is then seen punching O'Brien twice in the face in the space of 15 seconds, leaving the protestor with a bloodied nose before being arrested.
According to German broadcaster DW, police in Germany said 'officers were compelled' to use force after being 'insulted verbally and offended physically'.
It added that police had referred the incident to watchdogs to determine whether officers acted disproportionately or criminally.
Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign has also claimed that O'Brien was left with a broken arm following her arrest by 'ultra violent police'.
'Concern'
A statement from Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs said it would offer assistance to O'Brien if needed.
"The Ambassador in Berlin and senior officials in the Department have conveyed our concern about the incident to the German authorities," it read.
"Officials in the Department stand ready to provide consular assistance to the citizen concerned, should they request it."
On Saturday, Sinn Féin TD Mairéad Farrell called on the Irish Government to engage with their German counterparts to stand up for the right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression.
"The violent physical attack by Berlin Police on Kitty O'Brien, where the Irish activist was punched in the face and left covered in blood, is deeply concerning and must be condemned in the strongest terms," she said.
"This is not the first attack on Irish citizens protesting for Palestine in Berlin. Previously, I raised in the Dáil the banning of Irish language from a protest in Berlin as well as deportation orders being placed and then later paused pending decision, on Irish citizens in Berlin who engaged in pro-Palestinian protests.
"This worrying trend must be opposed. Freedom of expression and the right to peaceful protest must be protected. The Irish Government must engage with their counterparts in Germany on this, and defend its citizens' democratic rights."
'Utterly disgusted'
Echoing those words, Senator Patricia Stephenson of the Social Democrats called on Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris to take action, describing the incident as 'horrific and completely unacceptable'.
"Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris must raise the brutal treatment of this Irish woman with the German ambassador today," she added.
"He must also ensure she has the consular and medical care and support she needs.
"I am utterly disgusted to see the depths to which some EU countries have sunk, not only arming a genocide in Gaza — but violently suppressing those who are brave enough to speak out and peacefully protest about the slaughter."
Meanwhile, People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy posted on twitter/X: "German police punching and breaking the arm of an Irish activist, Kitty O'Brien.
"Authoritarianism is on the rise across the West as governments desperately try to shut down any criticism of genocide."
O'Brien's aunt Catherine Stocker, a Social Democrats councillor on Dublin City Council, spoke at a demonstration held in solidarity with O'Brien outside the German Embassy in Dublin on Saturday.
"Kitty is someone who shows a lot of bravery, as you can all see," she said.
"This is not the first of these incidents. It is the worst to date, certainly, but there have been previous arrests and quite a lot of heavy-handed violence from the polizei.
"That is something that we absolutely should not tolerate for anyone, obviously, but from a country that is allegedly a democratic member of the European Union to treat a fellow European Union citizen or a group of fellow European Union citizens in this way should be absolutely called out."
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