Police officers injured during protest as Hillary Clinton visited Belfast

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said a afloat probe has been launched into scenes of nationalist upset extracurricular Queen’s University connected Thursday.

The protestation took spot portion the erstwhile US statesmanlike campaigner addressed a acme astatine the university, wherever she is the chancellor.

There was a dense constabulary beingness arsenic protesters chanted “shame” and carried Palestine flags and a cut-out of Mrs Clinton depicted with humor connected her hands.

Footage showed aggravated exchanges and scuffles betwixt protesters and police.

The PSNI said 4 men were arrested. Three, aged 18, 20 and 21 years old, person been charged with resisting police.

The 18-year-old was besides charged with obstructing constabulary and the 21-year-old with obstructing constabulary and battle connected police.

They are owed to look earlier Belfast Magistrates’ Court connected December 12.

A 4th man, aged 57, was released.

South Belfast District Commander Superintendent Finola Dornan said each effort was made to facilitate those engaging successful peaceful protest, and said it is unacceptable and without justification that a fig of officers were injured.

“During the people of a protestation successful the assemblage country of southbound Belfast, our policing squad responded to a fig of nationalist upset offences connected the day of Thursday November 14,” she said.

“The close to protest, state of code and assembly are cardinal quality rights. They are protected successful instrumentality and let individuals to prosecute successful peaceful protest, balanced against the rights and extortion of others.

“What was experienced yesterday cannot beryllium described arsenic peaceful successful nature. In bid to negociate risks to the nationalist and to our officers, further resources, including tactical enactment officers, were required, importantly implicit and supra the archetypal section constabulary deployment.

“A fig of our officers were injured and this is unacceptable and without justification. In spite of these challenges, each effort was made to facilitate those engaging successful peaceful protestation to proceed to explicit their views.

“A afloat probe into the upset yesterday has been launched.

“We volition reappraisal footage with a presumption to identifying immoderate different offences that person been committed. I would promote anyone with immoderate accusation which could assistance constabulary to interaction america connected 101 and punctuation notation 890 of 14/11/24.”

In a connection connected Thursday, Queen’s said that portion they respected the close to protestation peacefully, it was “disappointed astatine the enactment of this tiny fig of protesters and condemn their behaviour”.