Rotterdam alderman no longer suspected of setting his own home on fire

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has dropped the case against Rotterdam alderman Faouzi Achbar. On Tuesday, the prosecution stated that he “was wrongly designated as a suspect.” The member of the DENK party had been suspected of ordering an arson attack on his home in Rotterdam-Lombardijen in July of last year.

In April, the National Criminal Investigation Department (Rijksrecherche) launched an investigation into the alderman’s possible role in the incident. According to the OM, no evidence was found that he had been involved in the arson.

The investigation was prompted by statements from Rudney E., a 37-year-old man who confessed to setting the fire. E. claimed that two individuals approached him in a Rotterdam snack bar, offering him 150 euros to set the fire on Achbar's behalf for insurance purposes.

E. further alleged that Achbar had left a window open to facilitate the arson. At the time of the incident, Achbar was in Berlin attending a European Championship match between the Netherlands and Turkey, and his family was not at home.

In the subsequent legal proceedings, Achbar and his wife filed damage claims amounting to tens of thousands of euros. The OM requested that these claims be frozen until the investigation concluded, citing the ongoing inquiry into the complainant.

E. was sentenced to 20 months in prison, with 10 months conditionally suspended. The punishment was lower than the recommendation from the prosecutors, as the court wanted E. to begin psychiatric treatment as soon as possible. E. was diagnosed with schizophrenia and a cannabis addiction.

Achbar refused to comment on the news that the charges have been dropped. His party, DENK, stuck with the alderman throughout the case.