It was at lunchtime on February 16 that the fire broke out in a multi-family house on Rådhusgatan in Östersun.

No person was injured but extensive damage occurred in the property and many residents had to be evacuated. The police arrested the next day, in Stockholm, a 20-year-old man who lived in the apartment but who left it shortly before the fire. He was remanded, and after trial he is now sentenced to three years in prison for arson.

Prison and deportation

According to the prosecutor, the man poured flammable liquid into the apartment and lit a fire, before leaving it. The 20-year-old denied the crime, but the Östersund District Court judged according to the prosecutor's claims.

The man is also sentenced to deportation from Sweden for ten years. Insurance companies and property owners claim damages for him at around SEK 875,000, which will be decided in a separate dispute case.