About a hundred opposition protesters held a demonstration outside the Irish embassy on Friday over the death of an Indian woman who died after being refused an abortion in the Catholic country. The crowd, carrying posters of the dead 31-year-old dentist Savita Halappanavar and accusing Irish authorities of committing "medical murder", were prevented by police from getting close to the Irish compound.
Elsewhere, the Indian government cranked up the pressure on Dublin over the October 28 death of Halappanavar after local politicians expressed their concern and urged the government to act. Foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said India's ambassador to Ireland would meet Irish authorities on Friday to seek assurances of a "transparent" probe.
"We expect that he will also seek reassurance from the Irish authorities that they will hold an independent, transparent enquiry into the matter," Akbaruddin told AFP. "He will request that the Irish authorities keep India informed of the progress and outcome of the enquiry," he said, adding that the envoy would also convey the "concern growing in India" over Halappanavar's death. The dentist repeatedly asked staff at University Hospital in Galway, west Ireland, to terminate her pregnancy because she was miscarrying, her family said.