The alleged incident occurred in Brittas on Sunday afternoon
Alleged assault during day time on three asylum seekers
Gardaí are continuing to investigate after three asylum seekers were set upon by several people in an alleged assault in Brittas on Sunday.
The three men, aged in their late teens to 30s, are asylum seekers from Afghanistan who were making their way to Kilbride Army Camp IPAS centre in Wicklow when they were attacked on Sunday afternoon, November 30.
It’s understood that the trio, who had been transferred from the Citywest IPAs centre to Kilbride, were followed by “two men on motorbikes” after buying supplies in Tallaght.
When they stopped in Brittas to speak to their pursuers they were set upon by these two men, as well as up to 12 other men who emerged from other vehicles.
According to one of the victims, who spoke to reporters, the attack lasted “about 20 minutes”.
He stated that four people came to his side of the car, broke the window and “punched me in my head, stomach and in my face” while also attacking the driver and back street passenger.
Two women who came upon the incident reportedly intervened and succeeded in driving off the alleged attackers.
Gardaí confirmed that the investigating an assault and criminal damage incident that occurred on Aghfarrell Road in Brittas, Dublin at approximately 2:30pm on Sunday, November 30.
“Three males (aged late teens, 20s & 30s) were conveyed to Tallaght University Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries,” they said.
Dublin South West TD Paul Murphy (PBP-S) condemned the “vicious” and “unprovoked” attack, calling it part of a “growing pattern of premeditated racist, anti-immigrant attacks”.
“The sharp increase in anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric from the Minister for Justice and others in Government are contributing to an increasingly hostile environment for asylum seekers and immigrants,” he said.
Anti-racism community group Dublin South West Together also condemned the attack, stating that these incidents “will not be accepted by the Brittas community”.
“Because of people who feel emboldened by racism and hatred, we all feel as though we are watching our backs, especially those of us who are immigrants or from an ethnic minority,” they said in a statement.
“We are committed to a community where everyone belongs and feels safe, and we won’t let a handful of violent haters define who we are.
“Such brutality and racially motivated violence has no place here.”
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Ellen Gough
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