“RIP Henry Nowak – east Belfast remembers”. Henry Nowak was fatally stabbed in Southampton, England, in December 2025 and his attacker, Vickrum Digwa, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in June 2026. The case was controversial because Digwa used a knife that is legal to carry as a Sikh and because the police who attended the scene handcuffed Nowak when Digwa told them that Nowak had been the aggressor. The case was taken up by right-wing politicians and activists: Nigel Farage alleged “anti-White prejudice” (Reform UK), Elon Musk demanded the officers involved be fired (BBC), and JD Vance attributed Nowak’s death to a “mass invasion of immigrants” (NYTimes); however, both Nowak and Digwa are Britons, Nowak of Polish heritage (and who also had Polish citizenship) and Digwa of Indian heritage. The “Polish plumber” stereotype, formed in response to migration from Poland after it joined the EU in 2004, was one of the factors that fueled the success of the Brexit campaign (Independent).
This banner shows two portraits of Nowak against a background of a Union Flag.
Newtownards Road, at Dee Street, east Belfast
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