The jury in the trial of Riad Bouchaker has been shown a video of his first interview with Gardaí, following an alleged knife attack on Parnell Square in Dublin.

The 52-year-old faces eight charges, all of which are alleged to have taken place in November 2023.

As soon as Mr Bouchaker was medically discharged from the Mater Hospital, he was arrested and taken to Mountjoy Street Garda Station for questioning, just before Christmas Day 2023. 

In total, he was interviewed seven times and he had a solicitor and French-Arabic interpreter with him at all times. 

The judge explained that sometimes interviews are edited down because they contain small talk of no relevance to the trial, such as questions about the price of fish or a recent football match. 

At this point, they watched a video interview that took place on the morning of 20th December 2023, just a few hours after Mr Bouchaker was arrested at the Mater. 

On All Rise: The Riad Bouchaker Trial, Courts Correspondent Frank Greaney recounted what they saw.

“Everything was explained to him and questions were then asked of him through his interpreter, this French-Arabic interpreter who then interpreted Mr Bouchakar's answers, relayed them back to the two detectives who were interviewing him,” Mr Greaney said. 

Mr Bouchaker was also informed that he had a right to remain silent in response to their questions, but that anything he did say could be used as evidence in court.  

“His initial response again through his interpreter was, ‘Do not say anything, do not hear anything, do what they tell you to do’,” Mr Greaney said. 

“But it was explained to him that that wasn't what the Guards were saying. 

“Again, they pointed out his right to silence, to which he replied, ‘Sometimes I lose concentration; whatever you guys want to do, do it.’

“Soon afterwards then, Mr Bouchakar asked his interpreter, ‘Do they know that I am sick?’ And he went on to say, ‘Whatever is going to happen is in the hands of God.’” 

Gardaí then informed Mr Bouchakar that he was in a police station, his interpreter’s role was explained to him and he was told that he could have a consultation with his solicitor at any point. 

“Mr Bouchakar through his interpreter said he understood and wanted to say that they should know that he is sick,” Mr Greaney said. 

“He said, ‘I have lost my head in this’, he said, ‘I'm not sure what happened, I received a letter, I picked up the thing.’

“He went on to say, ‘What happened is a mistake, I did something that I don't know what it is; I don't know what happened, I found myself with blood.’

“He then told the detectives, ‘Whatever you guys do, I agree with you.’”

Gardaí then reminded him that they did not want him to simply agree with them, they simply wanted to learn the truth and for him to be honest with them.

He was told that if he could not remember events, he should just tell them that. 

It was reiterated to him that he had been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder on Parnell Square on 23rd November that year. 

“He said he understood,” Mr Greaney recalled. 

“At one point, he said it had to do with killing people but the detective clarified it was to do with the attempted murder of people. 

“Moments beforehand, he said it was something good, that there were no deceased people.” 

Mr Bouchakar said he did not recall much but did say that he found himself on the ground. 

He gestured towards his shoulder and pointed out a head injury. 

When asked for his memories of the day of the alleged attack, Mr Bouchakar replied that he knew he “did something” and that he “threw something away”. 

“He said, ‘They refused my disability allowance,’” Mr Greaney said. 

“Then I got the envelope,’ he said, ‘I stayed alone, I found myself with a knife and I found myself alone.’” 

Mr Bouchakar was then asked what he did and replied that he “didn't want to kill” and made a stabbing gesture a number of times. 

With the interview coming up to the hour mark, Gardaí made the decision to bring the interview to an end to allow Mr Bouchakar to rest. 

Main image: Parnell Square on 23rd November 2023. Picture by: RollingNews.ie.