(Adnkronos) – A 30-year-old Sudanese immigrant identified as Hadi Alodid, suspected of the attack in the north of the city, on Kinnaird Avenue, in which forty-year-old Stephen Ogilvie was injured, has been charged by a Belfast court with attempted murder, possession of a knife in a public place, and threatening to kill a radiologist from the National Health Service (NHS). Ogilvie is still hospitalized with serious injuries to his left eye, which he lost, and to his right eye, neck, and back.
His family has appealed for calm, against last night’s violent protests, and thanked “those who bravely came forward during the attack to save Ogilvie’s life, as well as the doctors and paramedics who came to his aid.” “There are many migrants who make a valuable contribution to our country, including in the health service and hospitality, and on whom we depend for our country to function. We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility.”
Alodid, who refused legal assistance and did not respond to the charges translated for him into Arabic by an interpreter, via video link in court, will remain in custody while the case has quickly taken on a political connotation, after a night of violent unrest, not only in Belfast, and after a series of ethnically and politically motivated violence recorded in Great Britain in recent months. Alodid reportedly arrived in Belfast in February 2023, according to the Telegraph’s reconstruction, having traveled from Khartoum, first to Paris, then to Dublin, and then by bus to Belfast, where he applied for asylum for which he would have received permission to remain in Great Britain only until September of last year.
Cars and buses were set on fire, as were rubbish bins and houses. The windows of a home belonging to a family of African origin, who were inside at the time of the attack, were smashed. Firefighters, with the help of a local pastor, intervened to save the family members. Three people have been arrested “but others will certainly follow,” anticipated Security Undersecretary Dan Jarvis in the House of Commons.
Musk, no stranger to aggressive interventions in the internal situation in Great Britain, incited anti-immigrant protests that caused unrest last night in Belfast, also reposting a post by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, which listed demonstration appointments. “It’s shocking, anyone who tries to exploit such a situation for their own political agenda is doing something seriously wrong and causing harm,” commented Labour Party chair Anna Turley, speaking of the tycoon.
The condemnation echoes that made last week by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had accused the billionaire, who has never hidden his sympathy for far-right groups in Great Britain and the rest of Europe, of trying to “provoke divisions” following the murder of 18-year-old Nowak, accused of racial assault by Vikhrum Digwa, who was later arrested for his stabbing.
Protests over yesterday’s assault also occurred in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Ayr, with activists covering their faces, so much so that ‘first minister’ John Swinney spoke of “unacceptable” demonstrations. “Scotland is a welcoming nation and those who choose to make their lives here are considered valuable members of our communities. Racism, hatred, and intimidation have no place in Scotland.
We must speak out against it,” he declared. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also described the anti-immigration violence that erupted last night in Belfast after the knife attack as “shocking” and “completely unacceptable.” “Nothing can justify the violence and unrest we have seen, which threaten our communities, nor the actions of those who encouraged them, online or elsewhere. It is clear that people were targeted last night because of their origins, and I will not tolerate it,” Starmer added.
