Man who set worshippers alight sentenced

A man who set two worshippers on fire as they left mosques has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order.

Schizophrenic Mohammed Abbkr sprayed petrol before setting alight Hashi Odowa, 82, and Mohammed Rayaz, 72.

The 29-year-old's sentencing was delayed after a Birmingham Crown Court judge ordered psychiatric reports.

Abbkr, of Gillott Road, Edgbaston, was found guilty of attempted murder on 6 November 2023.

The defendant will be detained in hospital for medical treatment indefinitely until any consent for his release is given by the relevant secretary of state, said Judge Melbourne Inman KC, the Recorder of Birmingham.

Abbkr has paranoid schizophrenia and believed people possessed by evil spirits were controlling him, Judge Melbourne Inman KC told his sentencing hearing.

"The nature of each attack was identical. You threw petrol over your victims and then set them alight – the attacks were horrific," the judge told him.

Abbkr had been convicted by majority verdict over the attacks in Ealing, London and Edgbaston, Birmingham, in February and March last year, both of which were captured on CCTV.

During his trial, the jury heard Abbkr told Mr Odowa "I swear in the name of Allah, in the name of God, you will know me."

Both of the defendant's victims needed hospital treatment, with Mr Odowa having to have part of his ear reconstructed and Mr Rayaz underwent skin graft surgery after suffering for life-changing injuries.

Abbkr used a lighter to ignite petrol he had in a water bottle and sprayed it at Mr Odowa's head. His victim escaped serious injury as he was able to remove his burning jacket and vest.

Mr Rayaz, however, became engulfed in a ball of flame when he was attacked, the court previously heard.

Both victim's families gave impact statements describing the lasting physical and emotional scars the men had been left with.

Counter terrorism police, who were initially drafted into the investigation, later found there was no evidence Abbkr was motivated by a particular ideology.

The attacks were not treated as terrorism-related and jurors heard one psychiatrist agreed Abbkr, who came to the UK from Sudan in 2017, has paranoid schizophrenia.

The defendant, who was granted leave to remain in 2019, claimed those he attacked were not human and could not be injured by fire.

Abbkr was also said to have believed that those he had set ablaze were among several people "controlling him through magic".

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