Man guilty of attempted murder after setting fire to elderly worshippers leaving mosques

A man has been found guilty of two counts of attempted murder after setting fire to two elderly worshippers who had left mosques in London and Edgbaston.

Mohammed Abbkr, 29, targeted Hashi Odowa, 82, and Mohammed Rayaz, 70, in separate attacks earlier this year. He used a lighter and petrol in a water bottle to set fire to Mr Odowa and Mr Rayaz on February 27 and March 20, the court heard.

CCTV footage of both attacks was shown to jurors during the trial. Prosecutor Nicholas de la Poer KC told the jury that Abbkr had attended prayers at the West Ealing Islamic Centre before following Mr Odowa from the entrance door.

Mr de la Poer added: “There followed a conversation during which the defendant insisted that Mr Odowa knew him. Mr Odowa told the defendant that he did not.

“The defendant said ‘I swear in the name of Allah, in the name of God, you will know me’.

“Having sprayed Mr Odowa with petrol, the defendant drew out a lighter, struck the lighter, held it to Mr Odowa’s neck and ignited the petrol.”

Abbkr walked away from the scene and despite media appeals was only tracked down a day after attacking Mr Rayaz, who was a regular worshipper at Birmingham’s Dudley Road Mosque.

Mr Rayaz was followed for more than five minutes after leaving the mosque’s prayer hall, with CCTV footage showing Abbkr within feet of him as they passed a Caribbean food store on Dudley Road.

Abbkr was seen to take a clear plastic bottle from a rucksack, approach Mr Rayaz, placed a hand on his shoulder and ask him if he spoke Arabic.

Mr de la Poer told the jury: “The defendant then sprayed Mr Rayaz with the petrol. Using a lighter, the defendant set fire to the petrol. Mr Rayaz was engulfed in flame.”

The court was told that, as the initial flare of the fire began to diminish, the defendant threw more petrol from his bottle on to the flames and they “grew in size and intensity once again”

Abbkr admitted being the person responsible for setting both men alight but had denied attempted murder and administering a destructive thing with intent to endanger life.

Jurors convicted Abbkr by majority 11-1 verdicts after deliberating for more than seven hours over two days.

The 29-year-old, of Gillott Road, Edgbaston, was assisted in the dock by an Arabic interpreter as he was found guilty.

In a statement issued by West Midlands, Mohammed Ayaz, the eldest son of Mr Rayaz, said: “Seeing my father on the evening of 20th March in the burnt state he was in was just an awful and unbearable thing to see.

“No words can describe that moment the emotions which I was feeling, I felt so helpless and weak, no son or daughter should see their father or mother in that state.”

Another son, Adnaan Riaz, said: “Seeing the CCTV video of my dad being set on fire, his screams of pain and then reliving the visuals to the build-up of the attack and then after the attack will be with me forever.

“I would describe the attacker as a coward, this coward does not belong to any religion, society or even humanity.

“This impact of emotions which I have shared with you will be felt by me and my family for a very long time to come, and will remain with me for the rest of my life.”

The court heard Abbkr came to the UK from Sudan in 2017 and was granted asylum in 2019.

Judge Melbourne Inman KC, told the court after the verdicts that he wanted to hear further psychiatric evidence before considering a proposal to sentence Abbkr to a hospital order.

After his arrest, Abbkr was diagnosed as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia involving persecutory and religious delusions. Abbkr was remanded in custody until a sentencing hearing on November 17.

Chief Inspector Haroon Chughtai, of Birmingham Police, said: “These were absolutely horrific attacks which almost defy belief in their apparent randomness and severity.

“Counter-terrorism officers were initially called in to investigate, given the nature of the attacks. While they have continued the investigation, we have found no evidence that Abbkr was motivated by a particular ideology, and so this has not been treated as a terrorist attack.

“Thankfully these kinds of attacks are incredibly rare, but in the aftermath we worked closely with mosques around Birmingham to offer reassurance and listen to their concerns.

“The courage of the victims and their families has been exceptional. They have been left with physical and emotional wounds that they may never recover from, but I hope today’s verdicts will offer them some comfort.”

Additional reporting by PA