A YOUNG MAN staying at an international protection centre in Athlone was hospitalised after he was allegedly set upon by a group of men.

Gardaí confirmed they are investigating the incident that occurred in the Co Westmeath town shortly before 7pm on Sunday last.

The man – a Palestinian national aged in his 20s – was brought to Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe for treatment of “non-life-threatening” injuries.

Nobody has been arrested in relation to the incident and investigations are ongoing according to gardaí.

It’s the latest incident of violence against people seeking asylum in the town, amid repeated misinformation and conspiracy theories about the men who were sheltered in the Midlands Accommodation Centre earlier this month.

A local group supporting the men staying in tents at the site told The Journal that it was another example of how “violence had been legitimised” in the town, given the increasing number of attacks and threats towards men from the centre.

The State had planned to accommodate up to 1,000 men seeking international protection on the site, but a recent legal challenge has thrown that into uncertainty.

Lawyers for the State conceded a challenge brought by an Athlone county councillor, with the case and future of the site to be finalised next month.

Since October, protests have taken place around the new International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) facility called Midlands Accommodation Centre.

Amid the court case and ongoing protests, a spate of attacks and examples of discrimination and intimidation have taken place.

Such incidents have included anti-migrant groups breaking through Garda lines to force their way into the Midlands centre.

It was also discovered recently that an emergency exit of an adjacent centre for women and children seeking international protection was deliberately welded shut by anti-migrant groups.

A screenshot from one video posted online showing protesters pushing against railings outside the Midlands centre, eventually breaking through and bypassing gardaí.

In the latest incident, a Palestinian man was attacked on Sunday night by a group of men near the entrance to the Midlands centre in Co Westmeath.

It’s located in an area called Lissywollen on the northern outskirts of the town.

It’s understood he had gotten the bus back from the town centre with a friend and missed his stop. After getting off at a later stop, they were approached by a group of men who it’s alleged shortly after began to subject him to a serious assault.

The man was punched repeatedly in the head, neck and chest, suffering bruising across each, before he managed to get away and make it back to the centre.

The Journal has viewed a video of the man receiving treatment from paramedics.

It’s believed the victim has spoken to gardaí about the incident and is set to make a formal complaint.

A member of Athlone for All – a volunteer group which has been supporting people staying in the local area’s international protection centres – met the man in hospital and accompanied him back to the Midlands centre in the early hours of Monday morning.

He told The Journal that the man was “dazed and couldn’t talk” for most of his stay in the emergency department.

“He met this group walking back and they knew that he had little English. Once they realised that they knew exactly where he was going and where he was from,” the man said. “They beat him around the head and the neck after that.”

A number of the volunteers with Athlone for All have asked to preserve their anonymity due to a number of threats against their own members since October.

“This man had already fled the bombing in Gaza to Jordan where he was a refugee, before coming to Ireland and is now faced with this,” the volunteer added to The Journal.

“Him and other men have had to leave their families being bombed and are trying to get set up here so they can bring their families over to Ireland, and this is how they’re treated. It’s heartbreaking.”

Athlone for All said it was among a number of “serious and dangerous” recent incidents, including one that saw a man armed with a hatchet allegedly threaten a bus bringing men to the centre.

Other examples included asylum-seekers being refused service in a local shop, which came at around the same time as locals boasting on social media of ways to avoid serving the men when shopping in Athlone.