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A teenager stabbed to death another boy in a Dublin park during a “riot” after a fight over a bicycle, a lawyer told the Central Criminal Court.
A 17-year-old, who cannot be identified because he is a minor, has pleaded not guilty to the murder, but has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of 18-year-old Azzam Raguragui at Finsbury Park in Dundrum last year.
James Dwyer SC told the jury that it is the state’s case that the defendant was not acting in self-defense when he stabbed Azzam five times.
Dwyer said the trial stems from a confrontation between two groups of youths with the defendant in one group and Azzam in the other.
He said that around 5 p.m. on May 10, 2019, Azzam was with other teenagers in an area known as Rockfield near the Balally Luas stop.
Two associates of the accused arrived and it was suggested that a bicycle had been taken from a friend of Azzam’s and one of the members of the accused’s group made a threat.
Mr. Dwyer said that Azzam responded by telling this person that he was a “dead man.”
The two young men associated with the accused left and went to a house where other members of their group, including the accused, had gathered.
Together they traveled to Dundrum to confront the other group.
The defendant, Dwyer said, had armed himself with a knife.
He told the jury that Azzam was speaking with a member of the group of defendants when “suddenly, violence breaks out.”
He said it is not clear who struck first, but the situation “erupted into an uproar.”
The defendant and Azzam pledged to each other, the lawyer said, adding: “It seems that [the accused] was seen running after Azzam Raguragui, who ran uphill and slipped and fell and while on the ground [the accused] stabbed him repeatedly. ”
Azzam was pronounced dead at a hospital that night.
The defendant went to Dundrum Garda station the following day and made a voluntary statement in which he admitted to stabbing Azzam and said he did so in self-defense.
He also went with Gardaí to Finsbury Park and pointed out where he had thrown the knife. Gardaí recovered it and forensic evidence showed that the blood on the knife matched Azzam’s.
Dwyer said the prosecution will present evidence that they believe shows the defendant is guilty of murder and “did not act in any way motivated by self-defense.”
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