DUBLIN: Protesters in Dublin demanded “justice” on Saturday for a Congolese man who died after he was restrained by security guards, in an incident likened to George Floyd’s murder in the United States six years ago.

Around 100 people demonstrated in Ireland’s capital to call for an independent and transparent probe into the death of 35-year-old Yves Sakila earlier this month.

Video footage widely shared on social media showed Sakila being held on the ground for almost five minutes by security workers outside a department store on a busy shopping street in central Dublin on May 15.

Sakila, who had been living in Ireland since 2004, then became unresponsive before later dying in hospital. Irish police said in a statement they are investigating “all of the circumstances” surrounding his restraint and death.

The probe has not yet reached any announced findings or charging decisions. A post-mortem examination has been completed by a state pathologist but the results have not yet been released.

“We need justice for Yves Sakila. We need a proper investigation into his death,” one of the protesters, Eoghan O Ceannabhain, a musician, said.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2026