TWO suspects are accused of the racist attempted murder of a man.
Thomas Hannah, 46, and John McGuinness, 42, are charged with carrying out the attack at a property in Nairn in the Highlands on March 17 2023.
It is claimed the man was hit on the head with rocks, pushed to the floor and had his neck compressed with a table or other item of furniture.
Prosecutors allege that he also lost consciousness.
Hannah and McGuinness are also charged with robbing the man of a wallet, mobile phone and a bicycle.
It is further said they did “utter racial abuse” towards him.
McGuinness faces a separate and earlier charge of assaulting the man to his injury on the same day elsewhere in Nairn.
The indictment claims that he was grabbed by the arm, had it twisted before being punched causing him to strike a door. The charge also claims that he was also hit on the head.
Lawyers for the pair pleaded not guilty on their behalf at a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow today/yesterday.
A trial was fixed by judge Lord Colbeck and is scheduled to start in November this year.
Elsewhere hundreds of potentially dangerous prisoners will be let out of jail tomorrow as new SNP laws around early release come into force.
Around 400 criminals serving sentences of four years or less will be let out over the next six weeks under plans which have seen the point of automatic release drop from 50 per cent to 40 per cent of their sentence.
Nats ministers claimed they were forced into the move amid huge pressure on Scottish jails.
Latest figures show 8,289 prisoners are behind bars, well above the safe capacity of 8,007.
But Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr warned the move would see victims betrayed and see many criminals re-offend and back behind bars.
He said: “The release of more dangerous criminals today poses an immediate threat to public safety.”
Two suspects have appeared at the High Court in Glasgow accused of attempted murder[/caption]
