Paranoid schizophrenic who set alight to two elderly worshippers as they walked home from mosques in London and Birmingham after dousing them in petrol is sentenced to indefinite hospital order

A paranoid schizophrenic who doused elderly worshippers in petrol before setting them alight in two separate attacks has been handed an indefinite hospital order. 

Mohammed Abbkr, 29, of Edgbaston, Birmingham, attacked Hashi Odowa, 82, and 70-year-old Mohammed Rayaz as they walked home from worshipping at their local mosques 120 miles apart in London and Birmingham.

Abbkr, who was suffering 'several mental illness' at the time of the attacks, claimed he believed people possessed by evil spirits were 'controlling him through magic'.

When he was found guilty to two counts of attempted murder in November last year, West Midlands Police revealed how he left his victims with 'long-lasting physical injuries and significant mental trauma'.

Terrifying CCTV footage captured him stalking his elderly victims with lighter fluid in his rucksack before approaching them. A photograph released of Mr Rayaz revealed horrific burns to his face and neck.

Shocking images of Mr Rayaz's family taken 24 hours after the family man was targeted showed him lying at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham with bandages covering his wounds. 

At the time the photo was taken, the pensioner was unable to open his eyes, hear or speak. When he eventually regained strength, the first question he asked his son was: 'Why did he attack me? I didn't do anything to him.' 

Abbkr had come to the UK from Sudan in 2017 seeking asylum before being granted indefinite leave to remain in 2019. Mr Rayaz's sons previously questioned why the UK Government allowed him to say.  

'All of us blame the Government and the Home Office,' his son Mohammed said. 'They should have done their checks.' 

The father-of-two spent four weeks in hospital, returning weekly to get his bandages changed as he continues the grueling battle to get back to full health. Doctors said it will take around two years for his skin to fully heal.

He must stay out of UV light and wear a cap. He has since been diagnosed with PTSD and depression.

Sentencing Abbkr on Wednesday, Judge Melbourne Inman KC  said: 'The nature of each attack was identical. You threw petrol over your victims and then set them alight - the attacks were horrific.

'The two victims in this case were, on any rational view, chosen at random,' the judge added. 'You, however, genuinely believed each of them was one of those trying to take control of you.

'I am wholly satisfied that you committed both of these offences at a time when you were suffering a severe mental illness.'

The Recorder of Birmingham told the defendent it was 'clear beyond doubt that you represent a very great danger to members of the public.' He added it was also clear that 'how long you continue to represent such a danger cannot be determined now'.

The court heard Abbkr had been on the maximum dosage of one drug, but his symptoms have persisted and he has now been switched to another drug.

The judge said it was 'highly likely' Abbkr would require life-long treatment for his schizophrenia. He said it was clear it would be a 'very long time' before Abbkr would be considered for release, 'should that day ever arise'.

He will be detained at a high-security hospital for treatment, and if eventually assessed as no longer posing a risk to the public, can only be released with the agreement of the Secretary of State for Justice. 

Abbkr, who is being treated at Ashworth high security hospital in Merseyside, watched the proceedings by video-link.

Speaking previously, the son of one of his victims said: 'He's not the same as he was mentally and physically. We hope that time will heal and that the attacker gets a long time in prison.

'As a family, it has affected three generations - from grandfather, father to grandchildren. As a family we are grateful to the jury and the public for their support and well-wishers. But this will stay with us all of our lives.'

Mr Rayaz, a grandfather and devoted Muslim, had completed his sunset prayers at Dudley Road mosque on March 20 last year and decided to stay behind to read more of the Quran on the eve of Ramadan. 

Yet unbeknownst to him, Mr Rayaz was being watched intensely by Abbkr. The criminal stalked Mr Rayaz as he left the mosque before stopping to ask his victim whether he spoke Arabic. 

When Mr Rayaz tells him he speaks Urdu and Punjabi, he can then be seen being sprayed with fuel from a bottle before being engulfed in a ball of flames. 

The court heard Mr Rayaz managed to stumble to his son's house nearby shouting: 'Son, son, someone's put me on fire.'

Mr Rayaz, a retired factory worker, needed skin grafts to his face and hands and may be left with permanent patching to his face.

The callous attack came a month after the 29-year-old had travelled to London where he also doused Mr Odowa in petrol before setting him on fire as he left prayers at the West London Islamic Centre in Ealing. 

Mr Odowa had raised his hand when the petrol was thrown on him as he made his way to a neighbour's car, suffering minor burn injuries to his ear and hand.

The paranoid schizophrenic targeted Mr Odowa in London after he failed to recognise him, telling him - 'I swear in the name of Allah you will know me.' 

After his arrest, Akkbr was diagnosed as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia involving persecutory and religious delusions. 

Following his trial Judge Melbourne Inman KC the Recorder of Birmingham, told the court he wanted to hear further psychiatric evidence before considering a proposal to sentence Abbkr, of Edgbaston, to a hospital order.

In police interview, Mr Rayaz told how he thought he was going to die after being covered with a light coloured liquid and having a lighter held to his neck.

He said: 'I never saw him come up behind me or from the right or left He came in front of me and started to attack me. I tried to carry on. He had something in his hand and I wondered whether it was a knife and he was going to attack me with a knife.

'He just quickly threw something on me. The flames have gone up. I did not know what to do. I just tried to pull off my clothing. I was screaming for help but nobody came.'

His son Mohammed previously told of how his father had kept a beard for 20 years after completing Hajj - a religious pilgrimage. 

'On that evening seeing my father's beautiful white beard all burnt off, eyes and lips swollen up, hands burnt and seeing him half naked with no clothes on the upper body was just a very traumatic and life changing moment,' he said. 

'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.

'The unlawful use of violence and intimidation on two elderly people, in two different cities after Islamic prayers and after two separate mosques in my view were all planned in advance and carried out with precision with no concern if the victim lives or dies. 

Mohammed added that his elderly mother was 'still traumatised' and fears the attacker 'will be released early' and come back to 'finish the job' or attack the rest of the family.  

His brother Adnaan added: '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.'

Describing the attack that took place month earlier, Mr Odowa said: 'He approached me from the right. I did not know where he came from. He walked beside me.

'He asked me my name in English. I said why do you want to know my name. He asked me 'Do you not recognise me?' I had never seen him in my life. The man said in Arabic 'I swear in the name of Allah in the name of God you will know me'.

'I felt like he wanted to threaten me. The man then got closer to me. I saw him shake the bottle. He was targeting my face and then he poured the petrol from top down. I put my hand up to my face.

'I was looking at my neighbour. I was lucky. Then he lit the flame it caught the left side of my face. I do not know what he used to start the fire with. I remember a big flame.

'I remember removing my jacket to get the flames off. My vest was on fire and I took it off. That is when I realised god had saved me. There were many people in the street. They were scared and they ran away.

'I tried to grab the man but could not. He was gone. I heard my neighbour shouting to call the police. An ambulance came and that was the first time I felt the pain.'

Throughout his Akkbr's trial, prosecutor Nicholas de la Poer KC said 'the defendant intended to kill Mr Odowa and Mr Rayaz when he attacked them'.

He added: 'The defendant has denied this and on his behalf it is contended that he was suffering from delusions at the time and had not intended to kill a human being.

'Mr Rayaz survived the defendant's attack but he was less fortunate than Mr Odowa.

'He suffered more serious burns, injuries particularly to his head. He was in hospital for a number of weeks following the attack.

'It is the prosecution case that when the defendant threw petrol on Mr Rayaz and set fire to him and then added further petrol to the flames, he was intending to kill him.'

The court heard there was no evidence Abbkr – who had no previous convictions or history of violence - held extremist views. The judge said the defendant would not have committed the crime if it wasn’t for his illness.

In victim impact statements read to the court earlier, Mr Rayaz's family said doctors had told them it might take the pensioner three years to fully recover from the attack. 

They said his three-year-old granddaughter asked if he was going to be hurt again each time she heard a siren. 

The son of Mr Odowa said he still woke up screaming about being set on fire, was anxious in public and only went to the mosque occasionally.