Duisburg protesters demand justice for Ibrahima Barry after police acquittal

Approximately 150 people demonstrated in Duisburg to demand justice for Ibrahima Barry, a 24-year-old refugee who died following a police operation in a shelter in Mülheim an der Ruhr on January 6, 2024.

On September 30, the Duisburg District Court acquitted nine police officers involved in the incident. The officers had been charged only with dangerous bodily harm in office, a decision that supporters say limited the trial's scope to whether the force used was justified and if Barry experienced pain, rather than addressing the cause of death.

Advocates and forensic experts contend that Barry died from positional asphyxiation after being restrained in a prone position for over 12 minutes. While the court rejected motions to treat the case as a death investigation and dismissed independent forensic models, the Barry family and their legal team intend to appeal the verdict. Protesters called for a ban on prone restraint and greater accountability for lethal police violence.