SALEM, Va. (AP) - Jurors will be allowed to hear that a man accused of stabbing and a man and woman in Virginia was heard shouting “Allahu akbar” during the attack.
The Roanoke Times reports that a Roanoke County Circuit Court Judge rejected a bid by Wasil Farooqui’s attorneys to bar prosecutors from mentioning the Arabic phrase for “God is great” during the trial.
Defense Attorney Neil Horn said using the phrase would prejudice the jury. But Commonwealth’s Attorney Randy Leach said the event should not be “sanitized” for jurors.
Witnesses told police that Farooqui shouted the phrase during the August 2016 attack. Farooqui told a detective that he had been hearing voices telling him to attack someone.
He faces charges of malicious wounding in the trial set to begin Aug. 28.
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Information from: The Roanoke Times, https://www.roanoke.com
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