Four Irish people are being detained by police in Genoa, Italy, following their arrest over the weekend, a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said today.
The spokesman could not confirm if they were arrested in connection with the anti-globalisation protests that raged the city during the Group of Eight Summit nor could he say how long the four will be held.
Earlier a member of an Irish anti-globalisation group which travelled to Genoa last week, Ms Amanda Moloney, told ireland.comthat two members were still being held by the police today.
She said one man from Northern Ireland was arrested on Saturday and another from Dublin was arrested on Sunday morning. She said both men were arrested as they left the camp site where the group were staying.
The group of about 200 Irish campaigners are on their way back from Genoa today after spending six days in the city. The group included members of the Socialist Party, Globalised Resistance and Gluaiseacht, an Irish student umbrella anti-globalisation group.
Due to arrive at Dublin Port this evening, the group intends to hold an overnight protest at the Italian Embassy in Dublin and to stage a peaceful demonstration tomorrow morning.
"The protest outside the embassy will be against the brutality during the Summit, the detention of the two men and also against globalisation - as all our reasons for attending the Summit still stand," she said.
The group left Genoa yesterday afternoon as they were afraid for their safety, said Ms Moloney.
One person was killed, over 500 were injured and more than 130 arrested after street riots in the city on Friday and Saturday which caused an estimated £40 million worth of damage.
Ms Moloney said another Irish man in his mid-twenties and woman were arrested by Italian police on Tuesday but they have since been released. The woman, who was arrested after a Swiss Army knife was discovered in her bag, has been charged. She is said to have been strip-searched during her seven-and-an-hour detention.
The group went over to take in peaceful protests but were meet by hostility from the Genoa police from the minute we arrived, Ms Moloney said.
Ms Moloney witnessed an Italian police raid of the headquarters and living quarters of the Genoa Social Forum (GSF) an umbrella body that brought together many of the Italian anti-globalisation movements.
Police claimed they found iron bars, petrol bombs, knives and black overalls during the raid. Of the 92 arrests made, they claim 61 had injuries from fighting earlier in the day.
However Ms Moloney said the police used violent force. She described the scene in the living area following the raid as being drenched in blood with blood smeared on walls, along the stairs and a radiator in the assembly hall.
"At one point two bodies bags were carried out of the building but we have heard of no fatalities so we think it was an intimidation tactic," she said.