Charges for 'depressed' jail inmate who set cell on fire

DUBAI // A prisoner who claimed to be depressed is facing several charges after he allegedly slit his wrists and tried to burn himself to death while in solitary confinement. M M, a 21-year-old Emirati, was charged with arson, attempted suicide, life endangerment and damaging government property after a fire in his cell in the al Qusais police station in December 2008. M M told officers that he felt he was unfairly held in solitary confinement and that he felt depressed after spending so long there.

It was the latest in a rash of similar cases heard in Dubai courts. One of them featured an inmate who was serving a life term for arson. Twice he set fire to his solitary confinement cell in the Central Prison after saying he wanted to be released. He received two consecutive seven-year sentences in addition to his original term. @Email:amustafa@thenational.ae