Belfast Stabbing Victim Stephen Ogilvie Lost Eye; Hadi Alodid Charged with Attempted Murder
Hadi Alodid, 30, appeared at Belfast Magistrates' Court on Wednesday morning (June 10) charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie in Belfast. The court heard that Mr Ogilvie lost his eye in the attack. Alodid also faces charges of threats to kill an NHS radiographer on the same day and possession of a knife. He has been remanded in custody.
The charges follow a night of disorder in Belfast after the brutal stabbing. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned the violence, stating: "The scenes in Belfast last night were shocking and completely unacceptable. 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. Those responsible will feel the full force of the law."
Northern Ireland's Justice Minister Naomi Long criticised social media agitators who "yesterday would have struggled to find Belfast on a map" for "weaponising the fear that people genuinely have about what happened". She added: "If you're driving people from their homes based on nothing but the colour 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."
Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Jon Boutcher described the disorder as a "huge act of self-harm by mindless idiots who are actually only damaging their own futures". He told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster: "We lobbied continually for people to recognise how great Northern Ireland is. Last night took us back seismically. We live in a democracy. If there is to be a debate about immigration, if there is to be a debate about any key issues, that's through politicians and elected mandate that will occur next May. Do not act in a way that literally brings this place into a disrepute that it doesn't deserve."
