An Iraqi sheep farmer turned asylum seeker has been found guilty of arson after starting fires at two taxpayer-funded migrant hotels in Essex, including Epping’s Bell Hotel.
Rawand Abdulrahman, 37, was told he will face a “substantial custodial sentence” for the acts which he had initially blamed on “ghosts”.
Abdulrahman acknowledged setting the fires at both hotels and accepted he intended to damage the mattresses but maintained he never meant for the flames to spread to the wider rooms or buildings.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard the fires had endangered lives.
Jurors reached their decision in under three hours after hearing evidence about blazes at the Phoenix Hotel in North Weald Bassett and the Bell Hotel in Epping. Sentencing is scheduled for next month.
Abdulrahman’s defence barrister, James Cox, told the court: “The issue is what was in Mr Rahman’s mind at the time that the fires were set.
“Whilst he accepts starting the fires, he doesn’t accept that when doing so, he intended to endanger life or was reckless about whether life would be endangered.”
Prosecutor George Penny argued that, having witnessed the devastation caused by the Phoenix Hotel fire, Abdulrahman could not have been unaware that starting a second blaze would put lives at risk.
Asylum seeker Rawand Abdulrahman has been found guilty of arson for setting fires at migrant hotels
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CPS
The first blaze erupted at approximately 9pm on March 28, 2025, at the Phoenix Hotel, located five miles from Epping in North Weald.
Abdulrahman set mattresses on fire in Room 9, where the beds were arranged in an L-shape.
The flames spread rapidly, ultimately consuming and destroying an entire wing of the building.
Ten fire engines were dispatched to tackle the inferno.
The Iraqi migrant had stayed at the infamous Bell Hotel
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GETTY
Essex Fire Service investigators later concluded the fire was deliberately started, with the left-hand mattress identified as the minimum area of origin.
Their report, completed in September, determined there had been a risk of multiple fatalities, with the fire’s rapid development posing significant danger to both occupants and emergency responders.
No lives were lost, and no serious injuries occurred, thanks to staff members who swiftly activated the fire alarm system.
Following the Phoenix Hotel incident, Abdulrahman was relocated to accommodation in Reading, Berkshire, before being transferred back to Essex and placed at the Bell Hotel in Epping.
Eight days after the first fire, on the morning of April 5, he set alight both beds in Room 65, igniting flames at the head and feet of each mattress while his roommate was absent.
The blaze caused substantial damage to the room and affected part of the corridor, though the hotel’s construction prevented the fire from spreading as extensively as at the Phoenix.
Police apprehended Abdulrahman at the Bell Hotel on the same day.
During questioning, the asylum seeker suggested “ghosts” might have been responsible for the incidents, prompting an officer to respond: “I’m afraid we can’t arrest ghosts.”