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Man to go on trial for attempted murder in Belfast
The judge said the prosecution has a prima facie case after the stabbing left Stephen Ogilvie partially blinded and sparked disorder.
On Wednesday, Deputy District Judge Peter Prenter ordered Hadi Alodid, 31, to stand trial at the Crown Court for the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie after a preliminary inquiry hearing.
Prosecutors allege Alodid attacked Ogilvie with a knife at Kinnaird Avenue on June 8, leaving the victim partially blinded; video footage showed members of the public intervening with a hurling stick before the Police Service of Northern Ireland arrived.
Beyond the attempted murder charge, Alodid faces counts of possessing a bladed article and threatening to kill an NHS radiographer; the Sudanese national appeared through an interpreter to confirm he understood the allegations.
The attack on Ogilvie sparked serious disorder and rioting across Northern Ireland in June, which the Police Service of Northern Ireland described as racially motivated, with masked mobs setting fires and threatening foreign healthcare workers.
With Alodid set to have two barristers represent him at trial due to the seriousness of the charges, no application for bail was mounted; the court will fix a date for his arraignment at a future stage.