Rudney E. must spend ten months in jail for setting fire to the Rotterdam alderman Faouzi Achbar’s house last year. Achbar himself is still a suspect in the case. He is suspected of having ordered the arson.
The Rotterdam court confirms this to NU.nl on Friday after reports from Rijnmond and the AD. The 37-year-old E. has been sentenced to a prison term of twenty months, of which ten are suspended.
The public prosecutor demanded two years in prison, of which eight months were suspended. The sentence was slightly lower because E. was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He is therefore not accountable.
E. previously pleaded guilty to the arson. He stated that he did it on the instructions of two intermediaries and claims that Achbar directed those intermediaries to commit insurance fraud.
The National Criminal Investigation Department is investigating that scenario in a new investigation. In it, the alderman has officially been designated as a suspect. Therefore, the damage claims of more than 40,000 euros that Achbar and his wife have filed against the arsonist have been rejected by the court for the time being.
Achbar still lives in temporary housing
The fire raged on July 6, 2024, on the evening of the European Championship match between the Netherlands and Turkey. The house in the Lombardijen district was so badly damaged by the fire that Achbar and his family are still living in temporary housing a year later.
In September, the police released images of the arson. It shows E. cycling up, entering the house and starting the fire. Based on the images, the police received a tip that helped to track down E.