A 23-yr-old man linked to an incident in Dublin city centre in July, which involved the stabbing of a garda, has now been hit with further charges including arson and terrorism-related offences, reports RTE.
Abdullah Khan, whose residential address remains undisclosed by court order, appeared before Cloverhill District Court today to face five new charges.
Among these, two are classified as terrorist offences. They stem from a knife attack on a garda that occurred on 29 July in the city centre, and an arson incident at Conor McGregor’s Drimnagh pub, The Black Forge Inn, which happened four days prior, on 25 July, reports RTE.
The court heard that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has ordered Mr Khan’s case be heard before the Special Criminal Court.
At Cloverhill District Court, two gardaà gave testimonies relating to the arrest, formal charging, and cautioning of Mr Khan, reports RTE.
Detective Sergeant Liam McLoughlin, based at Bridewell Garda Station, informed the court that Mr Khan gave no response when charged with two of the new offences shortly before today’s session — these were endangerment of life and the attempted assault of another garda on Capel Street on 29 July.
Sergeant Eamonn O’Neill from the Special Detective Unit said he charged Mr Khan with the remaining three offences at 10.24am today, and confirmed that the accused made no comment, reports RTE.
One of the new charges involves alleged criminal damage as a result of the fire at the Black Forge Inn on 25 July.
The remaining two charges fall under Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences Act) 2005, accusing the defendant of taking part in terrorist acts or activities linked to terrorism during both the alleged arson on 25 July and the stabbing incident on 29 July, reports RTE.
Judge Alan Mitchell acknowledged that no bail application was made and ordered that restrictions on publishing the defendant’s address remain, citing public safety reasons, “and the safety of other persons not related to this”.
Although no legal aid was requested, the judge stated he would record that the request was being postponed, reports RTE.
Prior to today, Mr Khan was already charged with assault causing harm to a garda and possession of a Tactix knife capable of inflicting serious injury. With today’s charges, he now faces a total of seven.
He has been remanded in custody and is due to reappear at Cloverhill District Court next week, reports RTE.
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