SELF-DESCRIBED JIHADI Abdullah Khan has been jailed for six-and-a-half years for setting fire to a pub owned by Conor McGregor and attacking two gardaí with a knife on a Dublin street while shouting, “Allahu Akbar”.

Judge Karen O’Connor, presiding at the three-judge Special Criminal Court, imposed ‘strict’ post-release conditions requiring 24-year-old Khan to engage with the probation services for four years after he has served his time in prison.

The judge noted a report which stated that the primary objective of Khan’s probation is to support him to disengage from people involved in radical behaviours and ideologies.

His post-release supervision, the judge said, is deemed necessary to ensure public protection.

Judge O’Connor sentenced Khan for eight separate offences, with each sentence to run concurrently. On a charge that he engaged in terrorist activity by setting fire to the Black Forge Inn, Drimnagh Road, Dublin 12, she imposed a sentence of seven years and six months with the final year suspended for four years.

Khan, with an address in Dublin that cannot be published due to a court order, was charged that on 25 July 2025, at the Black Forge Inn, Drimnagh Road, Dublin 12, he committed arson by pouring petrol on the front door of the pub and lighting it with a match.

He was further charged that four days later, on 29 July 2025, at Capel Street, he assaulted Garda Gary Lynch causing him harm and attempted to assault Garda Patrick Nevin.

He was further charged with producing a knife during the same incident and two counts of endangerment, in that he intentionally or recklessly engaged in conduct which created a substantial risk of death or serious harm to the two gardaí.

Khan was also charged with two counts of engaging in terrorist activity or terrorist-linked activity on the dates of each offence. He pleaded guilty to all offences.

When the case came before the court in April, Detective Inspector Gavin Ross told Gerardine Small SC, prosecuting, that Khan was part of a wider group of like-minded radicals.

‘Need for vigilance’

The sentencing of Khan highlights the “need for vigilance to the dangers of extreme ideologies”, Detective Chief Superintendent Brian Woods told reporters after the sentencing.

“Abdullah Khan’s unprovoked attack on two unarmed uniformed members of An Garda Síochána on 29 July 2025, and an arson attack on a licensed premises in Dublin on 25 July 2025, were both motivated by an extreme ideology, an ideology based upon a perversion of a legitimate faith.

“This case, similar to other recent cases finalised before the courts, clearly highlights the need for vigilance to the dangers extreme ideologies, political, religious, or non-aligned extremism pose.”

Woods added: “Garda Patrick Nevin and Garda Gary Lynch were on a routine patrol when they were attacked without provocation or warning.

“I want to commend those two fine colleagues on their bravery and resilience in responding to a vicious assault and overpowering and arresting Abdullah Khan.

“My thoughts, as are those of every member of An Garda Síochána, remain with Patrick and, in particular, Gary, as he continues to recover from injuries sustained during this assault.”

Woods said gardaí remain “exceptionally alert to the threats from terrorism and violent political extremism”.

He said gardaí would continue to investigate these crimes and make “early interventions and disrupt potential risks where radicalisation is identified”.

Additional reporting from Press Association