Key facts
- The family of Stephen Ogilvie, who lost an eye in a knife attack, has appealed for calm following anti-immigrant riots in Belfast.
- Masked individuals burned vehicles and homes, targeting ethnic minorities after a video of the attack circulated online.
- Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old Sudanese national, has been charged with attempted murder and remanded in custody.
- Politicians, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, condemned the violence as the act of "masked thugs" and "disgusting cowardice".
- The family emphasized the valuable contributions of migrants and stated that the tragedy should not be used to fuel hostility.
The family of Stephen Ogilvie, who lost an eye in a knife attack in Belfast, has appealed for calm following a wave of anti-immigrant violence that erupted overnight. Masked individuals burned vehicles and homes, with many of those targeted being ethnic minorities, after a video of the attack circulated widely online.
Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old Sudanese national, appeared in Belfast Magistrates' Court charged with attempted murder and possessing a knife. He was remanded in custody. The court heard Ogilvie suffered significant injuries to his face and back.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other political leaders in Northern Ireland condemned the violence, describing the perpetrators as "masked thugs" and their actions as "disgusting cowardice." The family of the victim explicitly stated that the unrest was unwelcome and that the tragedy should not be used to divide people or fuel hostility, highlighting the valuable contributions of migrants.
Justice Minister Naomi Long suggested that "bad faith actors" had exploited the incident to target individuals based on their skin color. Amid calls for further protests, police deployed an additional 200 officers. The violence follows a period of heightened anti-immigration sentiment in the UK, fueled by populist parties and amplified by social media.