Longest Sentence: 9 Years for a Man Who Set Fire to a Hotel in the UK Housing Asylum Seekers
Sudan Events – Agencies
A British court sentenced a man to nine years in prison on Friday for deliberately setting fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers during anti-Muslim riots. This is the longest sentence handed down so far in connection with recent riots, according to Reuters.
Thomas Burley, 27, pleaded guilty to arson with intent to endanger life after setting fire to a garbage container at the entrance of a hotel near Rotherham in northern England on August 4.
Prosecutor Alesha Kay stated that “Burley placed wood in an already burning garbage container positioned at the hotel entrance while staff and guests were sheltering inside.”
Judge Jeremy Richardson sentenced Burley, who also admitted to violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon, in Sheffield Crown Court, stating that Burley’s actions “were marked by racism from start to finish.”
About 400 people targeted the hotel during days of rioting, which included violence, looting, deliberate arson, and racist attacks. This followed the deaths of three girls in Southport, northern England, on July 29. Initially, Muslims were falsely blamed for the attack, based on misinformation spread online.
