Man charged over Dublin stabbings that sparked riots

Dublin, Ireland - A 50-year-old man was charged with attempted murder in Dublin on Thursday over multiple stabbings at a school that sparked the worst rioting the Irish capital has seen for decades.

Protesters in Dublin torched a car and fought police on November 23, 2023, after a school stabbing.
Protesters in Dublin torched a car and fought police on November 23, 2023, after a school stabbing.  © Peter MURPHY / AFP

Riad Bouchaker was charged in a Dublin court with eight offences including the attempted murder of three children and causing serious harm to a care worker, Irish media reported.

A 5-year-old girl and a school care worker are still being treated for their injuries.

The November 23 school attack in central Dublin triggered a protest by anti-immigrant agitators that spiraled into the torching of police cars and public transport vehicles and shop looting.

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Earlier on Thursday the police arrested Bouckaher, who had been hospitalized since the attack after passers-by intervened during the stabbings.

"I am a sick person," Bouchaker told the court, according to the Irish Times.

Bouchaker, who spoke through an interpreter, will next appear before the court on December 28.

According to media reports, the man – whose name was only released on Thursday – is a naturalized Irish citizen originally from Algeria.

Far right activity and anti-immigrant sentiment on the rise in Ireland

The rioting, which was in part fuelled by far-right users of social media, prompted a government clampdown on hate speech online and increased funding for the police.

Anti-immigrant sentiment and far-right activity online have been on the rise in Ireland in recent years, intensifying in November after a Slovak national was convicted of murdering a young teacher.

Last weekend a hotel in western Ireland due to receive 70 asylum seekers was burned down, a suspected arson attack condemned by Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.

There is "no justification for violence, arson or vandalism in our Republic. Ever," he said.

Cover photo: Peter MURPHY / AFP

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