An asylum seeker has been hospitalised after he was attacked in Limerick.
The incident happened a day after the man was approached by suspected members of a far-right group who recorded him as they falsely accused him of inappropriate approaches to young children.
The videos were shared on social media and gardaí believe the man was singled out for attack the next day by someone in Limerick who recognised him from the footage.
The victim is an international protection applicant in his 40s from Afghanistan. Gardaí described as “misinformation and disinformation” the videos of the man recorded in the People’s Park, Limerick City, as people surrounded him on Monday and accused him of inappropriate approaches to young children.
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A Limerick-based group working with migrants said the Afghan man had been subjected to a “targeted act of harassment and violence”.
The Irish Times has learned one of the men who shared the footage of Monday’s incident online has served a prison sentence for killing his father. Gerard McNamara is also an active member of Sinne Na Daoine, a far-right group that claims to conduct “patrols” to “protect” the community in Limerick and other parts of the country. It is very active on social media though it has a minimal following.
It is suspected some of the people who approached the Afghan man in the People’s Park on Monday, accusing him while recording, were also members of Sinne Na Daoine. However, the attack on the same man the next day was being treated by gardaí as a separate incident, even though it appears to have been prompted by the footage from Monday.
McNamara (37) was convicted of the manslaughter of his father Joseph “Joey” O’Donnell at Hyde Road, Prospect, Limerick City, in October 2010. The fatal attack occurred after they had spent the day drinking. McNamara was in 2012 jailed for eight years with the final two suspended.
The videos of Monday’s incident are described as “Muslim man trying to take children in public park” and the group’s approach to the man, and the accusations they level at him, are described as a “citizens arrest”.
The man tries to explain, using limited English, he is from Afghanistan and there was “no chance” he would “take a baby”. However, he is accused several times of inappropriate approaches to children as he is filmed seated on the bench.
Doras, a migrant and refugee rights organisation based in Limerick, said it was “appalled by the recent assault in Limerick of a man from a migrant background, following unfounded and fabricated allegations against him”.
“This was a targeted act of harassment and violence” that had led to “outrage among the vast majority of people in Limerick who reject racism and vigilantism”.
In reply to queries, the Garda confirmed “a number of members of the public expressed their concern” on Monday to gardaí about “the alleged behaviour of a man who had earlier been seated in the People’s Park”. However, enquiries concluded the man’s conduct “was not of a criminal nature and was nothing untoward”, adding the man had “fully co-operated with gardaí”.
The Garda also confirmed that, separately, it was investigating an assault on the same man in the Parnell Street area of Limerick City at about 3:45pm on Tuesday. The victim was taken to Limerick University Hospital for treatment and his injuries were not life-threatening.
The Garda stressed it was “the sole agency” with the responsibility and power “to investigate crime and enforce enacted legislation”. Anyone who had concerns a crime had occurred should report it to the Garda for investigation.
