The fire at the Phoenix Hotel caused “several hundreds of thousands of pounds” worth of damage
Abdul Rahman has been jailed after the fires at two asylum seeker hotels in Essex(Image: CPS)
An Iraqi sheep farmer who set fire to two asylum seeker hotels in Essex has been jailed for almost a decade. Rawand Abdulrahman, 37, showed no emotional reaction as he was told he faced potentially being deported at the completion of his prison sentence.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard the arsonist deliberately torched the hotels to get moved elsewhere. The inferno caused an estimated “several hundreds of thousands of pounds” worth of damage to the Phoenix Hotel, leaving an entire wing of the property needing to be rebuilt. The Bell Hotel’s repair bill is estimated to be in the region of £40,000.
Abdulrahman’s defence claimed the “hopeless” criminal – who had been rejected asylum in Sweden before arriving in the UK – was living “a life of extreme uncertainty, frustration, fear and desperation”. But Judge Alexander Mills ruled the arsonist had “decided enough was enough” and took matters into his own hands in an attempt to be moved from accommodation “described as akin to a prison”.
The court heard the first blaze occurred at the Phoenix Hotel on March 28 last year. It spread from Room 9, which Abdulrahman was sharing with another individual, and caused damage that rendered an entire wing “unsafe and inhabitable”, Mr George Penny, prosecutor, said.
Witnesses were said to have described the incident as “terrifying”. The Phoenix Hotel had been hosing families with young children, the court heard.
The 37-year-old was initially then moved to a hotel in Reading, Berkshire, before returning to Essex and given a room at The Bell Hotel in Epping, around five miles from the Phoenix Hotel in North Weald. On April 5, around a week after the fire at The Phoenix, two mattresses in a shared room were partially set on fire. It resulted in damage to the bed materials, the headboard and decomposition of the bedside cabinets.
Abdulrahman was arrested and later charged. He was convicted of two counts of arson reckless as to whether life is endangered after a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, where jurors cleared him of arson with intent to endanger life.
A general view of the Phoenix Hotel after the fire last March(Image: CPS)
Abdulrahman, who had no previous convictions, was described by his defence barrister as “in state-imposed limbo”. Mr James Cox, defence, said: “At the time of the offending Mr Abdulrahman’s life was one of extreme uncertainty, frustration, fear and desperation. In short I would submit that he was quite hopeless.”
Mr Cox added: “This offending took place as the culmination of a life of hardship and hopelessness after years upon years of waiting for his asylum [application] to be processed with no control over his life. The offending took place at a point of heightened desperation and frustration.”
The court heard that, unlike in Sweden, Abdulrahman was unable to work whilst in the UK awaiting the outcome of his asylum application. The Judge said the 37-year-old was “clearly frustrated by the situation” that he found himself in.
He continued: “This was not a moment of madness that arose out of a background. In my judgement, what you sought to do quite deliberately was to get moved on from this accommodation by what you did.”
Judge Mills added: “It’s clear to me that you are willing to do whatever it takes to further a particular outcome, particularly when you do not like it, and think that things will not change otherwise unless you take matters in your own hands.”
Abdulrahman was sentenced to serve eight-and-a-half years in prison with a further three years on licence. He will serve two-thirds before the Parole Board can consider his release.
Chief Inspector Terry Fisher, District Commander for Epping Forest, said: “Abdulrahman’s actions risked the safety of the residents and staff at both hotels. I am pleased that our investigation, and the support from Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, has ensured he has been held accountable. We will investigate offences where and when they take place, regardless of who they involve or where they take place.”