Man jailed for setting fire to mosque

A man who threw a petrol bomb at a mosque was on Wednesday jailed for three years and nine months. 29-year-old Thomas Conington was convicted for lighting a molotov cocktail and hurling it at Edinburgh Central Mosque on 18 September 2016, resulting in the door of the building being set alight. A month earlier he had attempted to approach the mosque while drunk, and had shouted racially abusive remarks and became aggressive when he was refused entry. He was also accused of making racially abusive remarks to a security guard at a supermarket.

Along with the custodial sentence, Mr. Conington was given an Order of Lifelong Restriction by the High Court in Glasgow. This means that upon his release, he will constantly be monitored and subject to risk assessments, most likely for the rest of his life. Detective Inspector Grant Johnston of Police Scotland commented that “Everyone has the right to feel safe in their community. There is no place for prejudice in society and Police Scotland is committed to tackling these offences wherever and whenever they occur.”