An asylum seeker threatened to burn himself alive in a Swansea bed

An asylum seeker has threatened to burn himself alive over his “frustration” with the way the Home Office has handled his application, a court heard. Karim Elshalavi doused himself and his Swansea bed seat with barbecue lighter fluid and held a lighter during a tense three-and-a-half-hour standoff with police, who saw nearby houses evacuated and streets cordoned off. Ultimately, police negotiators were able to persuade the man to leave his room and take him to safety.

Arresting the 32-year-old, the judge said it was clear the defendant had a “claim” against the Home Office due to the “development or otherwise” of his UK asylum application. He told Elshalawa that what he had done could have devastating consequences for him and others.

Prosecutor Dean Pulling told Swansea Crown Court that Elshalavi came to the UK illegally about three years ago from his native Egypt and had applied for asylum. Whilst his application was pending, he was placed in various Home Office premises, first in London and then in towns along the M4 corridor, before arriving in Swansea, where he was housed in a block of flats on St Helens Avenue. A private company called Clearsprings managed the terrace on behalf of the Home Office.

Get the latest court cases in your inbox with our Crime and Punishment newsletter.

The court heard that although Elshalavi said he was depressed about his situation, his behavior did not raise any concerns until lunchtime on November 7 last year, when another tenant of the property called the Clearsprings housing officer “in state of panic” to say that Elshalavi had threatened to harm himself. Police were alerted and officers who arrived at the scene at 2 pm found the defendant standing at the window of his first-floor bedroom holding a bottle of liquid with a rag, which the lawyer said was known colloquially as a Molotov cocktail. Two computers entered the house and when they approached the defendant’s bedroom, it was discovered that the door had been sprayed with accelerator. Elshalavi then shouted at the officers through the locked door, “Don’t come in or I’ll set you on fire.”

Pulling said officers removed the other occupants from the home and then moved to a safe distance, where they continued to speak with the defendant through his open window. Now, a massive response operation has been launched, with firefighters and ambulances called, streets cordoned off, nearby homes evacuated and trained police involved in the negotiations. A lengthy period of negotiation followed, lasting over two and a half hours, during which Elshalavi sprayed himself with bottles of accelerant and repeatedly lit a lighter, telling officers he “wasn’t kidding”. The court heard the defendant tell the police that they had two hours to get a decision from the Home Office on his asylum application or he would set himself and his apartment on fire.

In the end, negotiations with the police were successful, and they convinced Elshalavi to leave his room. Before being arrested, he was taken out of the house and changed into clean, dry clothes. Police then entered his room and found five bottles of barbecuing liquid, four of which were open and partially empty. The bedding and other items were piled in the middle of the room and sprayed with accelerator, and in the window was the Molotov cocktail seen earlier. In his subsequent interview, the defendant said that he did not intend to do what he did, but believed he “had no choice”.

Karim Said Mahmoud Elshalavi, of St Helen’s Avenue, Swansea, had already pleaded guilty to attempted arson and threatening to destroy property when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no criminal record in Great Britain.

Euan Rees of Elshalavi said the defendant left his native Egypt because of the political situation in the country and the danger he was in there. He said there was a “story of disappointment” that the Home Office had not made a decision on his status. The lawyer added that his client had decided he did not want to stay in the UK and was seeking repatriation.

Judge Hugh Rees said the Nov. 7 incident was serious and could have “devastating consequences” for the defendant and others, saying it only ended with police intervention. He said it was clear that Elshalavi had a “complaint” with the Home Office about his “progress or shortcomings” in his asylum process. The judge said he read a psychiatric report on the defendant, which concluded that he had an adjustment disorder, but his level was above the limit for hospital treatment.

The judge said the appropriate sentence under post-trial guidelines would be six years in prison. That period was reduced to five years for realizing that this was an attempted crime, then it was reduced to four and a half years of leniency for the accused, and finally it was reduced by a further 20% due to his guilty plea. , which resulted in a final sentence. three-year sentence. years and seven months in prison. The defendant will serve up to half of this sentence in custody and will be released on leave to serve the remainder in the community.

Source: Wales Online