Deputy Kenny Demands Action Against Landlord For Illegal Eviction Of Attack Victim David Druzinec
RTÉ’s Primetime programme last night broadcast an interview with David Druzinec, attack victim and friend of murdered Josip Strok. David and Josip, both from Croatia, were attacked by a group of men for not speaking English. Josip died from his injuries four days after the attack. David suffered very serious injuries but survived and is recovering. In last night’s programme David spoke about how he was treated by the Gardaí and his landlord in the immediate aftermath of the anti-foreigner hate crime attack three weeks ago.
People Before Profit TD for Dublin Mid West Gino Kenny said “I was shocked by the revelations from David, Josip Strok’s friend, on last night’s RTÉ Primetime programme. His treatment by the Gardaí was shameful and his landlord who evicted him after the attack acted illegally and must be held to account”.
“On last night’s programme, David and Josip’s father expressed frustration that the Gardaí appeared reluctant to treat the attack as a hate crime despite the clear evidence. The Gardaí seemed determined to find other, unfounded reasons for the attack. We need answers from the Gardaí on how they conducted their investigation and their reluctance to treat it as the hate crime that it clearly was”.
Deputy Kenny said “The landlord who evicted David onto the street acted illegally and must be held to account for his appalling actions. When David returned home from hospital the landlord had changed the locks on his home and put his personal belongings outside, leaving him grieving, injured and now homeless. How could anyone treat a victim of an attack like this in such a way? The landlord’s actions were illegal and this must be acted upon and the landlord held to legal account”.
“I raised the hate crime attack on Josip and David in the Dáil on Wednesday. Given last night’s revelations, I will raise the matter in the Dáil again next week to demand action on the conduct of the Gardaí and landlord”.