The incident took place on Rosenthaler Straße in Berlin following calls for people to “flood the streets” in protest from 6pm on Thursday.
A series of videos posted by ‘irishblocberlin’ on Instagram show Kitty O’Brien clutching her mangled nose, before lifting her bloodied hands to German police, while shouting “their blood is on your hands”.
The Palestine Liberation activist is then seen being dragged from the crowd and marched away by two male police officers.
The Berlin police have been accused of “brutalising and leaving an Irish activist bloodied”, with The Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign group describing their actions as “indefensible”.
“This is the latest shameful incident in a laundry list of brutal attacks on peaceful Palestine protestors,” they added.
“Germany is broadcasting to the world their complicity in genocide in both word and deed.
“Kitty was simply protesting and doing her duty in upholding international law, an obligation that the German state repeatedly chooses to ignore.
“Germany must reckon with the fact that providing political and material support for an ongoing genocide does not lessen their culpability for the Holocaust.
“We demand immediate action from our government to intervene on Kitty’s behalf, and on behalf of all who continue to suffer police brutality for taking a stand against genocide, ethnic cleansing and apartheid.”
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Polizei Berlin said in a statement it has reported the incident to its police watchdog, the Directorate for Police Offences at the Berlin State Criminal Police Office, “to determine whether any aspects of the police response may be disproportionate or of criminal relevance”.
A spokesperson added: “During a violent demonstration in Berlin-Mitte, a female demonstrator of foreign descent was taken into custody.
“Despite repeated orders to leave the area, she refused to comply and insulted verbally and offended physically, several police officers.
“Officers were compelled to use immediate force, including selected targeted strikes, to overcome the resistance and carry out the arrest.
“There is clear evidence for verbal insults shouted by this individual, ranging from calling officers ‘genocide supporters’, ‘f***ing Nazis’ and ‘you should be ashamed of yourselves – there are babies starving’ amongst many more statements made.
“Moreover, the individual repeatedly suggested that she may be ‘punched in the face’ and failed to leave the area although officers permanently repeated orders to do so.”
The Berlin police added that “the individual has been introduced to Berliner Feuerwehr [fire brigade] medical service team” and said “investigations are ongoing”.
A spokesperson for Ireland’s Department of Affairs said: “The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is aware of reports of the incident in question and stands ready to provide consular assistance.”