PROTESTERS IN DUBLIN demanded “justice” for Yves Sakila, a Congolese man who died after he was restrained by security guards.

Around 100 people demonstrated today to call for an independent and transparent probe into the death of 35-year-old Mr Sakila earlier this month.

Video footage widely shared on social media showed Mr Sakila being held on the ground for almost five minutes by security workers outside Arnotts on Henry Street in Dublin on 15 May.

Sakila, who had been living in Ireland since 2004, then became unresponsive before later dying in hospital.

Gardaí 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, People Before Profit’s Dublin Central byelection candidate Eoghan Ó Ceannabhain, told news agency AFP.

The case has sparked a strong reaction among Ireland’s black and African communities, particularly those in the Congolese diaspora.

Campaigners say the case raises wider concerns about the treatment of black people in Ireland and the use of excessive force by private security staff.

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“We are standing for the community to ask for justice,” Ono Tambura, a 60-year-old Congolese woman who lives in Ireland told AFP at the protest.

Protesters at demonstrations have drawn parallels with the murder by a police officer of George Floyd in Minneapolis in the United States in 2020, which triggered riots and inspired the global Black Lives Matter movement.

While urging peaceful demonstrations, protest organisers have called for full transparency from authorities and demanded that all available security camera and witness evidence be examined.

Other demands include the prompt publication of forensic findings, and accountability for anyone found to have acted unlawfully.

Campaigners have also called on the government to address concerns about racial profiling and discrimination raised by members of minority communities.