VIDEO FOOTAGE APPEARS to show five men holding a man prone on the ground before his death after an alleged shoplifting incident on Henry Street in Dublin on Friday.

The almost five-minute video seen by The Journal appears to have been taken by a bystander among the large crowd outside Arnotts department store who watched as Yves Sakila was held to the ground.

Two of the men appear to be pushing Mr Sakila’s head and neck to the ground with their hands.

One of the men also appears to push down on Mr Sakila’s head and neck with his knee with force. 

Mr Sakila’s body is almost completely covered by the men. Mr Sakila appears to be groaning initially. 

Two other men wearing blue vests are looking on, one of whom goes on to join the group of men on the ground holding Mr Sakila. Someone can be heard shouting “stay down”.

By the end of the video Mr Sakila does not seem to be moving. Mr Sakila is lying prone on the ground with some of the men standing or kneeling over him for the duration of the video.

It is not known who took the video, which it is understood has been circulated in messaging apps.

It’s understood the video been shared with gardaí in Store Street investigating the incident and with Fiosrú, the office of the police ombudsman, as well as with the office of Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan. It has also been sent to the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.

Arnotts said in a statement this evening: “We are deeply saddened by the serious incident which occurred outside our Henry Street store on Friday evening.

“Emergency services and An Garda Síochána attended the scene, and the matter remains subject to an active garda investigation. As inquiries are ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time. Our thoughts are with all those affected.”

The Africa Solidarity Centre, an NGO, and the Congolese Community in Ireland said in a statement this evening that an immediate, independent, transparent and impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr Sakila’s death was needed.

Minority and migrant communities need reassurance that their lives and rights will be regarded as being of equal value and that they have equal protection before the law, the groups said.

They extended their condolences to Mr Sakila’s family, relatives, friends and loves ones and the wider African community. They said video footage they had seen raised “extremely serious concerns” about the level of force employed against the deceased while he posed no threat.

The Irish Network Against Racism (Inar), a network of anti-racism organisations, has described reports of the incident as “extremely disturbing” and said the case had the hallmarks of excessive use of force.

Inar director Shane O’Curry said: “The death of a black man in such circumstances is extremely worrying, and we urge the authorities to thoroughly investigate all of the circumstances leading to this man’s death, in order to ensure minority ethnic community confidence in the criminal justice system.”

Mr Sakila, who was from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and had been living in Ireland for over a decade, died on Friday afternoon.

Gardaí said at the weekend that Mr Sakila “became unresponsive at the scene and was transported by ambulance to the Mater Hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased”. Mr Sakila, who gardaí did not name in their statement, had been detained by security personnel, gardaí said.

Mr Sakila allegedly injured a man in his 80s as he “attempted to flee” after the alleged shoplifting incident, gardaí said.

A vigil will be held on Tuesday between 12pm and 2pm on Henry Street.

Jim O’Callaghan, the justice minister, has been contacted for comment via his spokesperson. 

With reporting by Emma Hickey.