A 30-year-old man has been remanded in custody charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie following a knife attack in north Belfast on Monday night.

Hadi Alodid, of Duncairn Avenue, appeared via video link at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday. He refused legal representation and made no reply when the charges were put to him through an Arabic interpreter. He is also charged with possessing a knife in public and threatening to kill an NHS radiographer. District Judge Steven Keown refused bail and remanded him in custody for four weeks, citing risks of reoffending, harm to the public, flight, and public disorder. Mr Alodid is next due in court on 8 July.

Mr Ogilvie, who is in his forties, lost his left eye and sustained deep cuts to his head, face, and back in the attack on Kinnaird Avenue at about 10.30pm on Monday. He remains in hospital. Video footage showed bystanders, including a man wielding a hurley, intervening.

The police said Mr Alodid entered Northern Ireland across the border from the Republic in February 2023, having flown to Dublin from Paris. He claimed asylum on arrival and was granted leave to remain until 2028.

On Tuesday evening, anti-immigration demonstrations took place in parts of Northern Ireland, with disorder breaking out in several areas. In east Belfast, a Translink Glider bus was set alight on the Newtownards Road, and several cars and homes were set on fire in Lendrick Street, forcing residents to flee. A number of houses and vehicles were also burned near the Ligoniel Road area, and a police Land Rover was attacked on the Crumlin Road. In Newtownabbey, two cars were set alight at the Cloughfern roundabout. In Portadown, a police car was burned on Bridge Street and properties including a takeaway and a housing association building were targeted.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said it dealt with 62 incidents between 7pm and midnight, mostly in the greater Belfast area. Translink suspended all bus and train services during the violence; they resumed on Wednesday morning.

Police Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said officers rescued families, including a two-month-old baby, from burning homes. He described the disorder as an insult to the victim and said those involved would be prosecuted. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the violence was shocking and completely unacceptable and that those responsible would feel the full force of the law.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill called the scenes outright thuggery. Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said taking frustration out on innocent people was utterly wrong. Justice Minister Naomi Long said the perpetrators were weaponising public anger and that hate could not be allowed to win.

Some schools in Belfast closed on Wednesday following social media posts calling for further protests. District Judge Keown warned that anyone planning further disorder should be prepared to go to prison.

The family of Stephen Ogilvie issued a statement through an independent councillor, thanking those who came to his aid and saying they did not want the tragedy to be used to divide communities or fuel hostility.