Kitty O’Brien, a 25-year-old Irish pro-Palestine protester who was recently punched and assaulted by German police in Berlin, fears their injuries may be life-altering.
On August 28, they joined a rally in what they thought was “really a normal Thursday for people protesting in Berlin”, said O’Brien, who uses they/them pronouns.
But as footage of the incident shows, the demonstration got heated.
O’Brien belongs to the Irish Bloc Berlin, a group of Irish expatriates who regularly attend rallies in support of Palestine in the German capital.
“As I arrived, it was just basically twice as many police officers as protesters,” they told Al Jazeera. That was usual, O’Brien said. “There was really not a lot of us.”
During a shouting match in which O’Brien participated, an officer punched them several times. When they were removed from the crowd, blood pouring from their nose, the same officer broke their arm, O’Brien said. “I just heard a loud crunching and kind of knew that something wasn’t right.”
O’Brien’s job as a costume designer relies on their handwork. Doctors have assessed that their right hand may have permanent radial nerve damage.
“I’m lucky, really lucky to have a job in what I love doing,” they said. “I’m not sure if or when I will regain feeling in my hand.”
Reflecting on the protest in Berlin’s Mitte district, which was held without prior authorisation to condemn Israel’s killing of journalists in Gaza, O’Brien said the police “were telling us to get back and to leave but also not really letting us leave, and that’s a classic move because then they use that as an excuse to basically brutalise you”.
Micheal Martin, Ireland’s prime minister, condemned the “unacceptable” assault on O’Brien.
Ninety-four people were detained and 96 investigations were launched, including on O’Brien, who is accused of insulting and resisting law officers. The police said they are also investigating the incident to gauge whether the officer accused of violence against O’Brien “acted proportionately”.
Throughout Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza, Germany, one of Israel’s strongest European allies, has backed the onslaught through its military and political support.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Germany accounted for 30 percent of Israel’s imports of major arms from 2019 to 2023. It continued to send weapons to Israel that could be used in its war on Gaza until early August when Berlin announced a halt to exports as the global outcry against the war got louder.
Germany’s police units are often accused of brutality against pro-Palestinian protesters. In April, Germany tried to deport a group of Western activists over their alleged behaviour at demonstrations, which campaigners said was an attempt to silence pro-Palestinian voices.
Police brutality is “definitely specific to protests that are for Palestinian liberation”, O’Brien said. “The large majority of the violence is obviously targeted at Palestinian and Arab and other brown and Black comrades who are on the streets with us and myself and the Irish bloc. We have felt the brutality, but it’s not because we’re white. It’s because we are standing beside brown people.”
Despite their injuries, O’Brien plans to keep protesting.
“There’s nothing that’s not worth risking to stop this genocide,” they said.
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