A 49-YEAR-OLD Czech national who only moved to Fermanagh over a month ago has been charged with two counts of attempted murder.
Florian Majcher, with an address at Lettergreen Road, Donagh, is charged with attempting to murder two males on December 6, 2021.
Appearing before Strabane Magistrates Court this morning, via videolink from Laganside custody suite, the defendant, who has no English, spoke only through a Czech interpreter.
Majcher confirmed that he understood the two charges against him.
A PSNI detective constable, who is the investigating officer in the case, told the court he believed he could connect the defendant to the charges.
Defending counsel, Mark Farrell, instructed by Norman Shannon solicitors, indicated that he would not be making a bail application on behalf of his client at the present time.
The court heard that the defendant does not have a criminal record in the UK and that Czech authorities had been contacted to see if he had one in his native country.
The brief hearing was also told that the defendant and his two alleged victims were seasonal workers who had flown over from the Czech Republic five weeks ago. They had all been living together in the property in Donagh prior to the alleged incident.
One of the alleged victims in the case has already been charged with attempting to murder Majcher, while the other will be charged with attempted murder once he is discharged from hospital, the detective informed the court.
Due to the risk of flight and concerns over possible witness interference, deputy district judge John Connolly remanded the defendant in custody to appear before Enniskillen Magistrates Court via videolink on January 10, 2022.
Speaking through the interpreter, the defendant told the court that he had a clean criminal record back in the Czech Republic.
He said it had not been his intention to kill anyone and claimed he had been living in terrible conditions since moving to Northern Ireland which had really stressed him out.
Majcher further claimed that he had sustained an injury to his right knee and asked who was going to treat it while he was in custody.
In reply, the judge said that it was not the forum to go through to raise these concerns and advised him to speak with his legal representatives.
Mr Farrell informed the court that he would consult with his client via an interpreter once he had finished his ten-day Covid isolation period in custody.
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