Palestinian who fled atrocities spared jail for carrying knives and resisting arrest in Dublin

Tom Tuite

A former rickshaw driver who fled atrocities in Palestine and required four gardaí to secure his arrest in central Dublin has been handed a suspended sentence for carrying knives.

Mahdi Kmail (34) was convicted at Dublin District Court of weapons and obstruction offences on August 31st and December 5th, 2025.

Judge John Hughes noted the ex-kitchen porter had taken six bench warrants before his hearing went ahead.

He rejected Kmail's account that he had been accused of drug dealing after he handed a flower to a woman because she noticed his keffiyeh scarf and said, "Free Palestine".

But gardaí stated, "that he was acting in an erratic fashion and they believed he was screaming at members of the public". The prosecuting officer contended he was shouting about Israel and that country's military, the IDF.

Judge Hughes imposed a six-month sentence but suspended it in its entirety on the condition that Kmail does not reoffend for two years. He must also remain on supervised probation and complete a course of psychological therapy.

Kmail, of Castlewood, Celbridge, Co Kildare, had 11 prior convictions for speeding and other documentary motoring offences resulting in fines.

He had pleaded not guilty, claiming that on the second occasion at Burgh Quay, he had the knife in his bag to gut fish, and a screwdriver and scissors for home maintenance.

Garda Jack Bradshaw challenged his claim that he had informed him that there was a knife wrapped in his bag. The officer told him it was discovered post-arrest, during a search at the garda station.

The garda gave evidence that the accused never mentioned a fishing trip. He also rejected Kmail's claim that he could not understand what was going on.

CCTV

The defence argued that there must have been CCTV in the area, and the prosecuting garda testified that he did not check because he was already aware that security cameras did not cover the location.

Kmail claimed gardaí accused him of selling drugs after he gave the woman a flower.

Questioned further by Garda Bradshaw about his fishing trip alibi, he conceded that it had happened several days beforehand, but he kept the knife wrapped in his bag for safety.

In response to the resisting arrest accusation, he maintained he was trying to understand what was happening and was beaten. He had a Stanley blade in his pocket when he stopped on the earlier date.

Imploring leniency, defence barrister Paul Larkin Coyle said his client had suffered trauma in Palestine and left to get away from atrocities in his homeland, had worked after arriving in Ireland and had no addiction issues.

Counsel asked the judge to note there was no allegation that his client brandished anything. However, the judge highlighted that Kmail had been caught twice, and on each occasion, he did not disclose to gardaí that he had knives.