Hatzola Ambulance Arson: Four in Court Over Targeted Golders Green Attack

Three men and a 17-year-old youth have appeared at the Central Criminal Court charged with an arson attack that destroyed four Jewish community ambulances in north London.

Hamza Iqbal, 20, Rehan Khan, 19, Judex Atshatshi, 18, and a juvenile defendant who cannot be named for legal reasons, are accused of criminal damage being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

The court heard that the fully stocked emergency vehicles, belonging to the Hatzola volunteer-led ambulance service, were set alight in the Golders Green area in the early hours of March 23.

Prosecutors allege that three individuals ignited the vehicles while a fourth acted as a driver in a blue Toyota Avensis.

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The resulting fire caused internal gas canisters to explode, leading to damage estimated at approximately £1 million.

The Old Bailey was told that the intensity of the blaze also caused damage to nearby residential flats and a synagogue.

The Crown Prosecution Service has indicated that the incident is being treated as a targeted attack against the Jewish community.

During the hearing on Friday, the details of the indictment stated that the defendants, without lawful excuse, destroyed property valued at over £5,000 belonging to the Hatzola charity.

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The legal threshold of the charge specifies that the defendants allegedly intended to destroy the property or were reckless regarding the potential for life to be endangered.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb presided over the hearing and established a procedural timetable for the forthcoming legal proceedings.

A plea and trial preparation hearing has been scheduled for August 28, with a provisional trial date set for January 27 next year.

The trial is expected to last four weeks and will be held at the Old Bailey.

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Iqbal and Khan, both of Leyton, east London, were remanded in custody alongside Atshatshi, of Dagenham, and the 17-year-old from Walthamstow.

All four defendants remain in custody pending their next court appearance in August.