Trial begins for refugee accused of setting spouse on fire
The closed-door trial of a Syrian man who came to Estonia as a refugee and stands accused of setting his wife on fire began in Harju County Court on Tuesday.
The trial will continue on Wednesday with testimony from witnesses called by the prosecutor and lawyer in the case.
The North District Prosecutor's Office has accused Kovan Mohammad, 19, of causing serious health damage, which is punishable by four to twelve years' imprisonment.
At the preliminary hearing earlier this year, Judge Merle Parts scheduled the trial for Sept. 12-14.
Woman set on fire in her home
On the evening of Tuesday, March 7, a 22-year-old Syrian woman who had arrived in Estonia as a refugee sustained severe burns in her home. She was transported to the hospital from her Majaka Street apartment in the Lasnamäe District of Tallinn at 5:30 p.m.
According to North District senior prosecutor Saskia Kask, the victim's 19-year-old Syrian husband and their infant child were in the apartment with her when she sustained the burns.
A criminal investigation was initiated under the paragraph of Estonia's Penal Code addressing the causing of serious health damage through negligence. Kask previously told ERR that the victim woke from a coma later that month.
The suspect has remained in custody since March 10.
The Syrian family arrived in Estonia from Greece last June under the EU migrant relocation plan.
Editor: Aili Vahtla
