This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jun/22/sudanese-refugee-walked-through-channel-tunnel-pleads-guilty-abdul-haroun
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Sudanese refugee who walked through Channel tunnel pleads guilty | Sudanese refugee who walked through Channel tunnel pleads guilty |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A Sudanese man who was granted asylum in Britain after walking through the 31-mile Channel tunnel from France has pleaded guilty to causing an obstruction to an engine or carriage. | A Sudanese man who was granted asylum in Britain after walking through the 31-mile Channel tunnel from France has pleaded guilty to causing an obstruction to an engine or carriage. |
| Abdul Haroun was granted asylum on Christmas Eve after being found and arrested close to the tunnel’s Folkestone exit on 4 August. | Abdul Haroun was granted asylum on Christmas Eve after being found and arrested close to the tunnel’s Folkestone exit on 4 August. |
| He was sentenced to nine months imprisonment, but walked free from court because he had already served five months in custody awaiting trial. | |
| Haroun, from Darfur, had been due to stand trial on Wednesday, but at the last minute entered a plea of guilty at a hearing at Canterbury crown court. | Haroun, from Darfur, had been due to stand trial on Wednesday, but at the last minute entered a plea of guilty at a hearing at Canterbury crown court. |
| He was charged under the obscure Malicious Damages Act 1861, specifically section 36, with obstructing engines or carriages on a railway, punishable by up to two years in prison. | He was charged under the obscure Malicious Damages Act 1861, specifically section 36, with obstructing engines or carriages on a railway, punishable by up to two years in prison. |
| Haroun, 40, who speaks Zaghawa, a form of Arabic common in Darfur, and virtually no English, was held in custody for almost five months after his arrest. | Haroun, 40, who speaks Zaghawa, a form of Arabic common in Darfur, and virtually no English, was held in custody for almost five months after his arrest. |
| His arrest came at a time when the media was dominated by images of many refugees and migrants attempting to reach Britain by scaling fences and attempting to board lorries and trains. Thirteen people are thought to have died in such attempts. | |
| Two Iranians, Payam Moradi Mirahessari, 25, and Farein Vahdani, 20, who walked through the tunnel in October last year, both pleaded guilty to the same charge in April and were each given 14-month custodial sentences. | |
| Eurotunnel has previously expressed the hope that convictions would help deter other people from trying to cross through the tunnel illegally. | Eurotunnel has previously expressed the hope that convictions would help deter other people from trying to cross through the tunnel illegally. |