Protesters gathered outside Ireland’s parliament on Thursday demanding accountability over the death of a Congolese immigrant who died after being pinned to the ground by security guards outside a department store in Dublin.
According to a report by the Daily Mail, the deceased, Yves Sakila, 35, was detained last Friday on Henry Street, one of Dublin’s busiest shopping areas, over an alleged shoplifting incident.
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Irish police said security staff restrained Mr Sakila shortly after 5 p.m. before he became unresponsive at the scene. He was later pronounced dead in hospital.
‘George Floyd moment’
The incident triggered widespread outrage after a video shared across social media showed at least five men pinning Mr Sakila to the ground for nearly five minutes while passers-by watched helplessly.
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In parts of the footage, two men appeared to force his face against the pavement, while one of them was seen kneeling on his head or neck for several seconds.
The disturbing scenes immediately drew comparisons with the 2020 killing of George Floyd, a Black American man who died in Minneapolis, US, after police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for minutes during an arrest over an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.
Mr Floyd’s death sparked global Black Lives Matter protests and intensified conversations around police brutality and racial discrimination worldwide.
In 2021, Mr Chauvin was prosecuted, convicted of murder and manslaughter by an American court, and sentenced to more than 22 years in prison, CNN reported.
Many demonstrators in Dublin said Mr Sakila’s death bore troubling similarities to the Floyd case.
“We call this a George Floyd moment,” David Kaliba, a former schoolmate of the deceased, said.
“I can’t believe it happened in America in 2020 and happened in Ireland in 2026,” he added.
According to Daily Mail, Mr Kaliba, who attended school with Mr Sakila in north Dublin, described him as “quiet and shy” and said he was not known to be aggressive. He added that the deceased had worked in information technology before recently becoming homeless.
Outside parliament, protesters chanted, “No cover up, no delay,” while others carried placards bearing the words “Justice” and “Céad míle fáilte is for everyone,” referencing the Irish phrase meaning “a hundred thousand welcomes.”
Calls for investigation
The newspaper reported that Ireland Prime Minister Micheál Martin described the footage as deeply disturbing and reiterated calls for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death.
Irish police said a post-mortem examination had been completed but the findings would not yet be released for “operational reasons.”
Authorities also disclosed that a man in his 80s sustained injuries during the incident as Mr Sakila allegedly attempted to flee.
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The Irish Network Against Racism said it was concerned that excessive force may have been used during the restraint.
“The death of a black man in such circumstances is extremely worrying,” the organisation said in a statement.
The case has reignited debate over racism and immigration in Ireland, where anti-immigrant demonstrations have increased in recent years.
Councillor Yemi Adenuga, recognised as Ireland’s first elected Black female public official, said the government had failed to adequately integrate the country’s growing immigrant population.
She warned that the situation was “a recipe for chaos, anarchy and apathy.”
Laure Zoya, vice president of the Congolese Community in Ireland, said many immigrants were now living in fear following the incident.
“The Ireland that they knew 30 years ago is no longer the same,” she told national broadcaster RTE.
