On Monday night, riots broke out in the Northern Irish town of Ballymen after two 14-year-old boys appeared in court on charges of attempted rape. The case has heightened emotions in the area, especially after it was disclosed that the teenagers needed a Romanian interpreter.
In response to a case involving two teenage males who appeared in court that day on charges of sexually abusing a teenage girl in the County Antrim town, hundreds of demonstrators had assembled in Ballymena earlier Monday. According to local media, an interpreter read the charges to the teenagers. On Monday, 15 police officers suffered injuries, some of them needing hospitalisation.
After the alleged sexual assault in the Clonavon Terrace neighbourhood on Saturday night, an estimated 2,500 people marched in protest in the Harryville area. The non-violent demonstration swiftly descended into chaos, with spectators and police engaging in altercations that lasted far into the night.
As police sirens surrounded all around the town after midnight, many automobiles were set on fire, and one was upside down in flames. Police said they are looking into what they believe to be racially motivated hate assaults after the first night of riots on Monday resulted in the destruction of windows and doors of other homes and businesses and the fire damage of four residences.
The disturbance comes after a demonstration that took place in the vicinity, some 45 kilometres (30 miles) from Belfast’s capital, earlier Monday night, according to the police statement, which also noted that many properties had been damaged.
“We are urging everyone to remain calm and to act responsibly,” stated the Chief Superintendent in a statement after officials verified that police had been targeted by missiles and that there had been property damage in the town centre.
Social media footage purportedly showed things being thrown into PSNI vehicles, masked people assaulting officers, and flames rising close to residential buildings.
The two teenage guys, who cannot be identified due to their age, were charged with attempted rape; the violence followed their court appearance.
The case, which is being handled at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court, has garnered a lot of media and public attention because of the accused’s nationality as well as the nature of the alleged assault.
Both teens are Romanian nationals, according to Irish station RTE, which also stated that they needed an interpreter for the court hearings. Despite being procedural, the detail seemed to incite anger among some protestors.
“The terrible scenes of civil disorder we have witnessed in Ballymena again this evening have no place in Northern Ireland,” Britain’s Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said on X.