Yasmine Zaer, 29, had been living in a Best Western hotel in London for seven months.
Yasmine Zaer set fire to her room at the Best Western Victoria Palace Hotel in August 2024 (Image: Getty)
An Iraqi woman set her hotel room ablaze and watched it burn after she had been living there for seven months at taxpayer’s expense.
Yasmine Zaer, 29, claimed she was fleeing for her safety and travelled across Europe to claim asylum in the UK. She was given accomodation at the three star Best Western Victoria Place Hotel on Warwick Way, central London and set the blaze in the early hours of August 1, 2024.
The blaze caused three-and-half thousand pounds worth of damage to the hotel and forced staff to evacuate the hotel. Zaer was found guilty by a jury after a trial at Southwark crown court of arson with recklessness as to whether life is endangered.
Wearing a grey top and jeans, she was accompanied in the dock by an Arabic interpreter, who spoke frequently to translate Zaer’s many outbursts throughout the hearing.
Mr Recorder Alex Lock said: “The circumstances of the offence are that on the August 1, 2024 you were a resident at Best Western hotel on Warwick Way, London, SW1. You had been living there for approximately seven months.
“A little after midnight on the 1 August 2024 you were seen by an employee at the hotel who considered that you were acting in a distressed state. He approached you to find out if you were all right, and you swore at him, behaved in an aggressive manner and ran off.”
He continued: “Sometime later at 3.20am, the fire alarm was heard and it had been triggered by the sensor in your room. Staff went to investigate and saw smoke coming out of your room and under the door – the staff managed to open your door to see if you were alright.
“They found two fires in the room: one resulting from a burning duvet on the bed and another from a burning blanket by the door. You were stood by the bed watching the fires. They managed to put them out, at which point you ran into the bathroom and locked the door.
“The hotel had been evacuated promptly and the fire brigade were called, they arrived at about 3.27am and came to your room. They managed to open the door with a screwdriver and found you inside in a confused state, together with evidence of you having tried to start a fire in the bathroom.”
Zaer initially told police she had ‘fallen asleep smoking a cigarette’ before changing her story to say she had set fire to the room in an attempted suicide.
“You became increasingly difficult during the police interview, behaving in an erratic, unpredictable and confrontational manner – a familiar pattern of behaviour with you,” the judge added. “It was due to the swift action of the hotel staff, as well as the police and fire service, that the fire was quickly contained and extinguished.”
He told Zaer that hers was a ‘selfish and reckless act’ that carried a ‘very real risk of causing serious injury to others or worse.’
But the judge added: “You have suffered difficult circumstances, from your life in Iraq, to your marriage, through to Greece where your children were taken away, and then into this country. Those factors have undoubtedly contributed to your sense of anger, your clear PTSD and confrontational, unpredictable behaviour.”
Balancing the aggravating and mitigating features Mr Recorder Lock sentenced her to serve four and a half years in prison.
He said she would serve half of the sentence in prison and the remainder on licence, where she will be ‘required to engage with the probation service.’
Zaer stated from the dock: “If you want to add to the sentence you are welcome but I will have no dealings with probation. I don’t mind the duration four or six or a thousand years, I will have no dealings with probation.”
“It’s up to you,” the Recorder replied.
Zaer, of Warwick Way, central London, was found guilty of arson with recklessness as to whether life is endangered.
