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A man who stabbed a Garda in an unprovoked attack and set fire to the Black Forge Inn will be sentenced in October at the Special Criminal Court.
Abdullah Khan (24), who has an address in North Dublin and is of Pakistani origin, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to the Garda and production of a knife capable of causing serious harm, two counts of endangerment to life, as well as attempted assault of a second Garda who was present at the time.
He also pleaded guilty to setting fire to the Black Forge Inn on the 25th of July before he stabbed the Garda on the 29th of July 2025.
Khan, whose address has been withheld by court order, pleaded guilty to criminal damage as well as engaging in terrorist activity related to the act of arson.
He shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ as he stabbed the Garda with a knife in the unprovoked attack, later saying that he was loyal to the founder of the Islamic terrorist group. Abu Musab Al-Zarqaw.
The three-judge panel heard this morning that little progress has been made in the construction of a “pre-sentence assessment” of Khan after the court ordered that a special post-release supervision plan be prepared pre-sentence.
Counsel for Khan said that his client was “not willing to engage” with the report.
Hearing this, the panel of judges said that it had received an updated probation report and that they were “somewhat disappointed” with the contents of the report as they had “made it very clear how important risk assessment is to this case,” adding, “We had hoped for progress and engagement”.
“It’s very disappointing to say the least,” the judges said.Â
When the judges asked for an update on a psychological report, they were similarly told that Khan is “not willing to engage in that process either.”
The panel of judges repeated that it had “provided time and made it very clear how important the risk assessment” is in the case, as well as putting in place a “mechanism” to conduct post-release supervision arraignments.Â
“We have explored the possibilities,” the judges said, adding that as “he is not willing to engage”, the matter would be listed for finalisation on the 12th of October next.
Prosecuting counsel Maddie Grant BL outlined the maximum sentences for the eight counts of wrongdoing.
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