LONDON: An investigation has been launched after a German police officer was filmed punching an Irish activist in the face at a pro-Palestine demonstration in Berlin on Thursday, The Guardian reported.
Activist Kitty O’Brien was hit twice by the officer before being dragged away with a bloodied face, footage uploaded to social media showed.
O’Brien, who was reported to have suffered a broken arm by local newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, reportedly swore at police and was filmed calling the officer a Nazi before the incident took place.
“We as the Berlin police are reviewing whether the officer acted proportionately, and we’re doing it as part of a criminal investigation on suspicion of bodily harm on duty,” a spokesperson said. O’Brien is being investigated for insulting officers and resisting arrest, the police said.
The incident sparked criticism in O’Brien’s homeland, with Maeve Collins, the Irish ambassador to Germany, conveying her “concern” to the German government, the Irish Department for Foreign Affairs said. Protests were held outside the German Embassy in Dublin on Saturday.
