BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — A 30-year-old man from Sudan appeared in a Belfast court Wednesday charged with attempted murder over a stabbing attack that left a victim seriously injured and triggered anti-immigrant violence in several parts of Northern Ireland.
Hadi Alodid, 30, was ordered held in jail after an appearance by video in Belfast Magistrates’ Court, where he was accused of blinding Stephen Ogilvie in his left eye during the stabbing, prosecutors said. He was also charged with threatening to kill a radiographer on the same day and with possessing a knife.
Alodid refused legal representation through an Arabic interpreter and did not enter a plea.
Masked men set several homes they believed to house immigrants on fire, burned trash bins and a Belfast bus and pelted police with objects on Tuesday night. Firefighters rescued several people from burning homes. PA/PA Images via Getty Images
The court appearance followed a night of violence in which masked men set fire to several homes they believed to house immigrants, burned trash bins, torched a Belfast bus and pelted police with objects. Firefighters rescued several people from burning homes.
Anselme Shima, a Belfast resident originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said he saw smoke from burning vehicles near his home.
“I’ve lived on my street for almost 10 years, I have a good relationship with my neighbors, but last night was a horrific one,” he said. “We don’t know what to do. I’m scared. Seeing this, I’m wondering if I’m next.”
Politicians from both parts of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government condemned the violence. First Minister Michelle O’Neill of Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein said it was “thuggery.”
“Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice,” she said.
Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, of the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party, said that “taking frustration at the evil actions of a person out on those who had no part in it is utterly wrong.”
Emergency services attend to a Glider bus, set on fire by protesters, on the Newtownards Road in east Belfast, as disorder flared during an anti-immigration demonstration organized in response to Monday night's stabbing attack in the city. PA/PA Images via Getty Images
The Attack Was Caught On Video
Monday’s attack, caught in graphic video footage that quickly spread on social media, was seized on by anti-immigration activists. Ogilvie, a man in his 40s, was hospitalized with serious injuries to his face and back after being stabbed.
Police said Alodid entered Northern Ireland from the neighboring Republic of Ireland in 2023, applied for asylum and was given a 5-year permit to remain.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said there is no information to suggest the attack is terrorism-related and they are not seeking other suspects.
The street violence erupted despite calls from politicians for calm.
Prime Minister Starmer condemned the stabbing attack as “sickening,” but said violence against people based on their background would not be tolerated.
“The scenes in Belfast last night were shocking and completely unacceptable,” Starmer said on X. “There is no justification for the violence and disorder that we saw threatening our communities, nor for those who encouraged it, online or elsewhere. It is clear that people were targeted last night because of their background and I will not tolerate it.”
Protests were encouraged online by far-right activists including Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson.
Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long said social media agitators who “yesterday would have struggled to find Belfast on a map” were “weaponizing” the fears of local people.
“If you’re driving people from their homes based on nothing but the color of their skin, you can’t dress that up any other way, it’s racism, and those bad faith actors need to take a step back,” she told the BBC.
Vehicles set on fire by protesters on Lendrick Street in Belfast, as disorder flared in response to Monday night's stabbing attack in the city. Protests were encouraged online by far-right activists including Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson. PA/PA Images via Getty Images
Questions About The Irish Border
Some politicians said the stabbing should spark a review of the open border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., and the Republic of Ireland.
The border is a highly sensitive issue. Allowing the free flow of people back and forth is a major pillar of the peace process that largely ended decades of violence known as “The Troubles.” The conflict involving Irish Republican and British Loyalist militants and U.K. security forces left almost 3,600 people dead before a 1998 peace accord.
Much of Tuesday’s violence took place in working-class areas where former paramilitary groups still hold considerable sway over the streets.
Last week a separate case of a university stude…
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