Homophobic double killer calls gardai after he’s bashed in jail
Murderer makes official complaint
A HOMOPHOBIC double murderer has made an official formal complaint to gardai about an attack on him in prison.
Yousef Palani, 23, was interviewed by officers behind bars in recent days over the assault in his cell in Mountjoy a week ago.
He gave them a detailed account of what happened and helped identify the culprits.
Palani, who moved to Ireland from Iraq when he was aged just six, had been detained in isolation in a cell on his own for months and was not allowed to mix with other prisoners for his own safety since his conviction last October.
Palani received a double life sentence after confessing to the horrific murders of two gay men Aidan Moffitt, 43, and 58-year-old Michael Snee within days of each other in April 2022.
He met both via a dating app and killed them in their homes.
However, Palani at his own request, was eventually allowed to mix with other prisoners in recent
weeks and then four men burst into his cell and beat him up on March 11. It is understood he was punched and kicked.
A Mountjoy source said: “He initially didn’t want to go to hospital but then changed his mind a few days afterwards.
“He basically got a good kicking and his injuries were superficial. He was obviously angry, very upset and shocked.
“There is only so much you can do to protect these guys apart from locking them up in isolation 24/7.
“He was deliberately targeted by a couple of bad boys in here and a full investigation is now under way.
“The gardai have been in and Palani has made a full statement to them.
“He keeps telling us that he is going to sue over it.
“However, it was he who insisted on being let mix with other inmates even though we told him there could be a risk.
“Thank God we got to him on time otherwise his injuries could have been far more serious.”
The Mountjoy authorities know who the prisoners involved in the attack are and they have yet to be quizzed
by detectives