Man sentenced to hospital order for setting fire to worshippers as they left mosques

A man who set alight two elderly worshippers as they left mosques in London and Birmingham has been sentenced to a hospital order - and cannot be released without the approval of the Secretary of State. 

Mohammed Abbkr, 29, of Edgbaston, Birmingham, was previously found guilty of attempting to murder two elderly men on two separate occasions in February and March last year. Both victims were left with burn injuries.

In the first attack, Abbkr sprayed petrol over an 82-year-old worshipper and used a lighter to set him on fire outside West Ealing Islamic Centre in west London during the evening of 27 February 2023.

In the second incident, he doused a 70-year-old worshipper with petrol from a bottle outside Dudley Road Mosque in Birmingham before setting him alight on 20 March 2023.

There was no evidence Abbkr was motivated by a particular ideology, and so the incidents were not treated as a terrorist attack.

He was arrested on 21 March, the day after the Birmingham attack, as police tracked him returning to Dudley Road Mosque.

Abbkr, who arrived in the UK from Sudan in 2017, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court today. He received a hospital order and cannot be released without the approval of the Secretary of State.

Mohammed Abbkr

Nick Price, Head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “These were horrific acts of violence against two elderly members of the public as they left mosques.

“Mohammed Abbkr’s actions resulted in severe injuries and psychological trauma to his victims and caused considerable shock and concern to the communities in London and Birmingham.

“I hope today’s sentence provides some reassurance to all those affected that they are safer now this man has been brought to justice.”