In the United Kingdom, the suspect in the deadly stabbing of three little girls, which sparked racist riots, pleads guilty

The alleged perpetrator of the murder of three little girls at the end of last July in Southport, in the northwest of England, in a knife attack which sparked violent riots in the country, has pleaded guilty, Monday January 20, the first day of his trial at Liverpool Criminal Court.

Now aged 18 (17 at the time of the events), Axel Rudakubana admitted to these murders, committed during a dance class inspired by pop star Taylor Swift. Ten other people were injured, including eight children, in one of the worst stabbing attacks the country has seen in years.

He also admitted to producing a highly toxic poison, ricin, and to possessing an Al-Qaeda training manual. Motivation “terrorist” was, however, not held for these murders.

At his trial on Monday, Axel Rudakubana refused to stand in court and responded ” guilty “ for each charge. The fact that he pleaded guilty shortened the proceedings and the judge announced that he would pronounce his sentence on Thursday. In December, the suspect refused to speak to the court, which then considered his silence to be tantamount to a plea of ​​not guilty and decided to try the case in a trial initially expected to last four weeks.

“A deeply traumatic and distressing period”

British Interior Minister Yvette Cooper announced on Monday the opening of a public inquiry into the murder of these three girls. We have “need independent answers” on the action of government agencies “who came into contact with this extremely violent teenager”, “including through a public inquiry to find out what happened, and what needs to change”she declared, a few hours after Axel Rudakubana pleaded guilty. She estimated Monday morning that the trial was going to be “a deeply traumatic and distressing time for families”.

Earlier, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement that “ There remain serious questions that must be answered about how the State failed in its ultimate duty to protect these little girls. (…) Britain rightly demands answers, and we will leave no stone unturned in this quest. »

In the wake of the attack, violent anti-immigration protests took place in dozens of towns in England and Northern Ireland, fueled by far-right agitators amid rumors circulating on the Internet about the suspect. He had been wrongly presented as a Muslim asylum seeker even though he was born in Wales, to a family originally from Rwanda, and lived in Banks, a township near Southport.

The violence lasted several days, during which rioters attacked hotels housing asylum seekers and mosques, and clashes took place with the police, mobilized en masse, or with counter-protesters.

On August 8, thousands of people gathered across the country to say “stop the far right”racism and Islamophobia. Although Axel Rudakubana was a minor at the time of the events, the courts authorized the revelation of his identity in response to rumors circulating about him.

More than 410 people convicted in the country

Labor leader Keir Starmer, who came to power a few weeks earlier, denounced riots“extreme right” and promised the greatest firmness towards the perpetrators of this violence and those who had fueled it online.

As of mid-December, more than 410 people had been sentenced across the country in connection with these riots, including more than 360 to prison, according to a count carried out by the British news agency PA. Two men were sentenced to nine years in prison, the heaviest sentence handed down in the crackdown on this violence.

A body responsible for monitoring police action estimated that they had underestimated the climate of violence and the weight of disinformation which culminated in the riots this summer. The Southport attack sparked a wave of horrified reactions across the country.

King Charles III visited the site in August to meet the surviving children. The day after the attack, singer Taylor Swift, then in the middle of her global tour, said she “completely shocked”. According to several media, the star met two of the injured little girls on the sidelines of his concerts in London in August. Prince William and his wife Kate also visited Southport in October and paid tribute to the rescue teams.