An Iraqi sheep farmer who set fire to two hotels of asylum seekers Essex has been imprisoned for almost a decade.
Rawand Abdulrahman, 37, showed no emotion after being told he faced the potential of deportation at the end of his prison term.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard that the arsonist deliberately set fire to the hotels to take other accommodation.
The inferno caused ‘hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of damage Phoenix Hotel, leaving an entire wing of the property to be rebuilt.
The Bell Hotel repair bill is estimated to be around £40,000.
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Abdulrahman’s defense claimed the ‘hopeless’ criminal – who had been refused asylum Sweden before arriving in the UK – was living ‘a life of extreme uncertainty, frustration, fear and despair’.
But Judge Alexander Mills ruled the arsonist had ‘had enough’ and took matters into his own hands in a bid to move out of accommodation he said was akin to a ‘prison’.
The court heard that the first fire happened at the Phoenix Hotel on March 28 last year. It spread from Room 9, which Abdulrahman shared with another individual, and caused damage that made an entire wing “unsafe and habitable,” Mr. George Penny, prosecutor.
Witnesses said the fire was ‘horrendous’, with many families with young children staying at The Phoenix Hotel.
The 37-year-old first moved to a hotel in Reading, Berkshirebefore returning to Essex and being given a room at The Bell Hotel in Epping, about five miles from the Phoenix Hotel in the North Weald.
On April 5, about 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 bedding materials, the headboard and the decomposition of the bedside cabinets.
Abdulrahman was arrested and later charged. He was convicted of two counts of arson recklessly endangering life after a trial at Chelmsford Crown Court where jurors cleared him of arson with intent to endanger life.
Abdulrahman, who had no previous convictions, was described by his defense lawyer as “in state-imposed limbo”.
James Cox, defending, said: ‘At the time of the offending, the life of Mr. Abdulrahman was an extreme uncertainty, disappointment, fear and despair. In short, I would submit that he was quite hopeless.
“This offense occurred as the culmination of a difficult and hopeless life after years and years of waiting for his asylum (application) to be processed with no control over his life. The offending occurred at a point of heightened desperation and frustration.’
The court heard that, unlike Sweden, Abdulrahman was unable JOBS while in the UK awaiting the outcome of his asylum application.
Judge Mills said the fire was “not a moment of madness” but came from a background of frustration.
He added: “It’s clear to me that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to advance a certain outcome, especially when you don’t like it and you don’t think things are going to change unless you take matters into your own hands.”
Abdulrahman was sentenced to eight years in prison with a further three years on licence. He will serve two-thirds before the Parole Board considers his release.
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