Mohammed Abbkr trial: Muslim worshipper describes being ‘doused in petrol and set on fire’

An elderly Muslim worshipper said he thought he was going to die after being doused in petrol and set on fire by a paranoid schizophrenic.

Hashi Odowa, 82, said he remembered seeing a “big flame” after being sprayed with a light coloured liquid from a bottle and having a lighter held to his neck.

A court heard he suffered burns to his ears and hands after being attacked as he left West London Islamic Centre, in Ealing, London on February 27. Mohammed Abbkr, 29, is accused of trying to kill Mr Odowa and Mohammed Rayaz, 70, in a separate attack outside a mosque in Birmingham.

He is on trial charged with two counts of attempted murder and two of administering a destructive thing, petrol, with intent to endanger life.

On the second day of his case at Birmingham Crown Court, a statement from Mr Odowa was read to the court describing the moment he was attacked.

The OAP said he was walking to a neighbour’s car for a lift home when he was approached by Abbkr who asked him: “Do you not recognise me?”

After telling him he did not, Abbkr was said to have replied in Arabic: “I swear in the name of Allah, in the name of God, you will know me.” Mr Odowa said: “I walked for about five to seven minutes from the mosque to the car.

“There were lots of people leaving the mosque and I think it was nearly 8pm. There’s a big building in front of the mosque and I walked past it. This is when I first noticed the man that attacked me.

“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.”

Mr Odowa said they tried to get to his neighbour’s car but the man prevented him from getting into the vehicle.

He added: “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.”

He said his attacker had been holding what looked like a water bottle with liquid in it. He added: “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.”

The court heard when Mr Odowa was being treated for his injuries he said ‘he did not think he would survive when he saw the flames on his jacket’.

Earlier, in a statement, Hamed Medmi said that before the attack Abbkr had sent him a video on WhatsApp of Mr Odowa, claiming he had been following him.

He said he believed that the defendant was paranoid and said he wanted to get medical help for him. The court was told that Abbkr was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia after being arrested.

Abbkr, of Gillot Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, denies the charges and the trial continues.