A man on trial for the murder of his ex-girlfriend was wrestled to the ground in open court after punching a prosecuting barrister.  Vesel Jahiri, who’s originally from Kosovo, was removed from the court room afterwards and hasn’t been allowed back in.  

Vesel Jahiri fired his legal team earlier in the trial and has been representing himself since.  He called a number of defence witnesses yesterday and the judge told the jury this morning that he wouldn’t be calling anymore.  As he was protesting to Mr. Justice Paul Coffey about how the trial should proceed, the prosecuting barrister Patrick Marrinan took to his feet. Just as he was about to speak, Mr. Jahiri lunged at him and punched him in the face. Blood could be seen coming from the senior counsel’s nose.  The accused then jumped across the benches and made his way towards the door before he was wrestled to the ground by prison officers.

The jurors were sent away for a short time and when they returned, they were told the trial would continue in Mr. Jahiri’s absence. Mr. Marrinan did not return to court this afternoon but he’s said to be ok.

Mr. Jahiri is accused of murdering the mother of his two children Anna Finnegan at her home in Dublin in 2012.