Three to appear in court after Belfast rioting

Three men will appear in court in Northern Ireland on Monday, facing charges connected with recent rioting in Belfast.

A 26-year-old man has been charged with a number of offences, including riot, arson, conspiracy to commit arson, three counts of possession of an offensive weapon with intent, and two of criminal damage.

He will appear at Belfast Magistrates’ Court.

A 58-year-old man has been charged with possessing written material intended or likely to stir up hatred or arouse fear.

He will also appear at Belfast Magistrates’ Court.

A 30-year-old man has been charged with intentionally encouraging or assisting riot, publishing written material intended to stir up hatred, sending menacing messages through a public electronic communications network, and possession of fireworks without a licence.

He will appear at Downpatrick Magistrates’ Court.

Meanwhile, police are investigating a report of intimidation at a park near Manse Road, Castlereagh, on Sunday evening.

A man was walking in the park at around 7.15pm when he was approached by six young people, who shouted abuse and intimidated him. As he walked away, the group threw stones at him.

The man was not injured in the incident, which the Police Service of Northern Ireland said is being treated as a racially motivated hate crime.

Some 20 police offices have been hurt since the disorder began earlier this month, including a female officer with severe facial injuries and a male officer with a broken leg.

“We now have 35 people arrested and 28 charged to court in connection with the recent disorder,” Ms Jones said.

“On Sunday, we released another five images of individuals whom we would like to speak to in connection with our ongoing investigation into disorder and attacks on police officers since Saturday August 3. You can view the images at www.psni.police.uk/news/op-exposure.

“Twenty officers have been injured since the disorder began, including one female officer sustaining severe facial injuries and another male officer with a broken leg. Assaults on our officers for doing their job is not acceptable.

“The various reports and incidents since last Saturday have been a disgrace and I am appealing to the public directly: do not let these criminals hide in your community.

“Anyone with any information should contact police. We have set up a Major Incident Public Portal for people to submit information, images and footage. Photos and footage, including CCTV, mobile phone or dashcam footage, can be shared with police through the Major Incident Public Portal at Public Portal (mipp.police.uk).

“Our Public Order Enquiry Team will continue to review footage to attempt to identify those involved, as well as those organising and orchestrating this disorder.

“As with any investigative process, the Police Service will follow the evidence and present it to the Public Prosecution Service.”