LONDON: A UK judge entered not guilty pleas on Wednesday on behalf of the teenager accused of killing three young girls attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance party, which sparked nationwide anti-immigration riots.

Appearing via videolink at Liverpool Crown Court, Axel Rudakubana remained silent when asked to respond to more than a dozen charges following the Southport attack in July, which led to more than a week of unrest.

The 18-year-old is accused of murdering three girls — aged six, seven and nine — and also of attempting to murder eight other children and two adults.

He has also been charged with several other counts, including possessing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.

Judge Julian Goose said he was satisfied that Rudakubana could hear what had been said in court Wednesday, and that he was entering the not guilty pleas on his behalf. “Axel Rudakubana, I don’t need you to reply,” Goose said, as he also set a trial start date of Jan 20.

The trial is expected to last up to four weeks. Rudakubana has appeared in court several times since the attack, when he has also refused to respond to questions and covered his face with his sweatshirt.

On this occasion, he sat slightly hunched, looking straight ahead at the camera on the videolink from high-security Belmarsh prison, in southeast London.

Wearing a grey sweatshirt, with his hands on his lap, the defendant occasionally looked around the room.

The stabbing spree in Southport, northwest England, sparked around a week of unrest and riots in more than a dozen English and Northern Irish towns and cities. Authorities have blamed far-right agitators for fuelling the violence, including by sharing misinformation over the identity of the alleged attacker.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2024