17-year-old boy pleads guilty to manslaughter, denies murder

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

A 17-year-old boy who cannot be identified has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denies murder at the Central Criminal Court. He has admitted stabbing 18-year-old Azzam Raguragui. The proceedings were reported on 2 September 2020.

Azzam Raguragui died after he was attacked at Finsbury Park in Dundrum, Dublin. The court had heard that he was stabbed following a confrontation between two groups of youths over a bicycle on the evening of 10 May 2019.

Two teenage girls testified that they were with two boys at the back of Dundrum Shopping Centre that day when a group including the accused walked past, stopped a short distance away and looked back before returning. They said the accused asked one of their friends his name. One described the accused as hostile and aggressive; the other said he looked as though he was about to go for their friend.

CCTV played in court showed that the group of six boys, including the accused, did not stop or surround the girls and their friends. The group walked back to them before turning around and leaving again. The trial was continuing.