Men in court over attacks on Pakistani dissidents

Three men accused of involvement in plots to attack two Pakistani dissidents at their UK homes have been remanded in custody.

Asaf Afsar, 40, Mark Regan, 53, and Liam McGarry, 25, are all said to have been hired for a "sophisticated" plan to inflict violence on human rights lawyer Mirza Shahzad Akbar and journalist Adil Raja.

Akbar was previously a member of the cabinet under jailed former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, while Raja is an outspoken critic of the current government. Allegedly, hired attackers went to the homes of both men in a plan to assault them on Christmas Eve 2025.

None of the defendants entered pleas at the brief hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring remanded Afsar, Regan, and McGarry into custody, with an order they join four other defendants at a hearing at the Old Bailey on 13 February.

It is said groups of hired attackers went to the homes of both men in a plan to simultaneously assault them on Christmas Eve last year.

Raja was not home, while Akbar was punched repeatedly in the face when he answered the door of his Cambridgeshire address, the court heard.

Afsar and Regan, both of Birmingham, are each charged with two counts of conspiracy to cause actual bodily harm, while McGarry, from Warwick, faces a single charge of conspiracy to cause actual bodily harm over the alleged attack on Akbar.

"The Crown's case is that these were planned, simultaneous assaults at 08:00 on that day, with plans to attend their home addresses and assault them on their doorsteps," said prosecutor Warren Stanier.

"The prosecution say this was a sophisticated and planned enterprise, to undertake these violent planned incidents."

Four other men have already been charged after a police investigation into the alleged plots.

Regan's son Louis, 25, from Birmingham, and Karl Blackbird, 40, from Bedworth, face two charges of conspiracy to commit assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Clark McAulay, 39, from Coventry, faces one charge of conspiracy to commit assault occasioning actual bodily harm in relation to the incident at Raja's address in Chesham, Buckinghamshire.

Doneto Brammer, 21, from Wood Green, north London, faces charges of possession of a prohibited weapon, conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life, and conspiracy to commit arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.

The court has heard Louis Regan is accused of being the person who attacked Akbar while disguised as a workman and wearing a mask.

Brammer is accused over a second incident on New Year's Eve last year, when it is said Akbar's home was set alight and Brammer was carrying a firearm.

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