A group of men from Afghanistan say they were subjected to a beating by a group of more than 10 people in Brittas, Co Dublin. The windows of their car were also broken.
The alleged attackers used racist slurs, one of the men told The Irish Times.
The Afghan men were taken by gardaí for medical treatment for injuries after the attack on Sunday, but had to leave their car at the scene in Brittas.
When they returned for the vehicle on Monday, some attackers appeared at the scene again, forcing them to flee, he said.
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One of the victims, Muhammad, said about 12 to 14 people, including three on motorbikes and people in a car, had attacked them on Sunday afternoon.
“They broke the windows of our car and they started beating the driver,” he said.
“I was in the front seat and four people came to my side, broke the car window and punched me in my head, stomach and in my face.
“One of my friends was on the back seat, and [the attackers] broke that window also and punched him in the head, face.”
Muhammad and the other two men, all Afghan nationals, have been in Ireland some months and are international protection applicants fleeing the Taliban regime.
He said the group attack, and being subjected to a second incident on Monday, left him and his two countrymen in fear, even though their experience of Ireland in recent months had been overwhelmingly positive.
“They were saying things like, ‘You f**king immigrant, f**k you’,” Muhammad said of Sunday’s attack.
“They were beating us for about 20 minutes and then they ran away.”
Their attackers fled after two local people intervened.
The local people recorded some of the attack on a mobile phone and called gardaí. They arrived at the scene, but the alleged attackers had gone.
One local source, who works as a volunteer in the area, said the community was shocked at the violence in what appeared to be a sustained attack on the men and their car.
“Everyone in our community deserves safety, but [on Sunday] we saw a senseless assault on people in our community just because of their immigration status and where they lived,” the volunteer said.
“We need our politicians to take this seriously and [to] speak out in support of people who come to Ireland seeking safety.”
The alleged attack happened after the three Afghan men had been transferred from the Citywest International Protection Accommodation Service centre in Co Dublin to another one in Co Wicklow.
They went to a garage in Tallaght to buy supplies. On leaving the garage, they noticed a driver was pursuing them very closely, which continued for a long period.
They eventually pulled over at a roadside in Brittas to speak to the pursuing driver.
When they did, other people allegedly arrived on motorbikes and in another car, with the first allegedly blocking the Afghan men in. They say they were then subjected to a beating for about 20 minutes.
After the attack, gardaí took the three men to Tallaght University Hospital.
The men have since given statements to gardaí in Tallaght.
Garda Headquarters said an investigation was under way.
“Gardaí are investigating an assault and criminal damage incident that occurred on Aghfarrell Road in Brittas, Co Dublin, at approximately 2.30pm on Sunday,” An Garda Síochána said.
“Three males – aged late teens, 20s and 30s – were conveyed to Tallaght University Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. Investigations are ongoing.”
