UK asylum for Sudanese man who walked the tunnel
Print Edition
Britain has granted asylum to a Sudanese man who made global headlines in August when he walked 50 kilometers through the Channel Tunnel from France to England, highlighting the desperation of many migrants seeking a better life in Europe.
Abdul Haroun, who was arrested at the English end of the tunnel on August 4 and charged with obstructing a railway under an obscure 19th Century law, has been held in prison since then and was due to face trial this month.
In a brief hearing yesterday at Canterbury Crown Court where Haroun appeared by video-link from prison and spoke only to confirm his name, prosecutor Philip Bennetts said Haroun had been granted asylum on December 24.
Bennetts requested 14 days for the prosecution to consider the impact of this new information on the criminal case, suggesting that the charge against Haroun may be dropped.
Judge Adele Williams granted the request, adjourning the case to January 18 for the prosecution to announce their decision.
She also granted Haroun immediate bail after Bennetts made clear the prosecution was not opposing his release.
While in prison, Haroun has been supported by a small, local refugee rights group who were able to provide him with an address, which was not disclosed in court yesterday.
The judge told Haroun via an interpreter that his bail terms were that he had to live at that address, sleep there every night, and report to a local police station every Wednesday during a two-hour window.
Haroun is the first migrant known to have made it to Britain by foot through the railway tunnel, a perilous 12-hour journey in near total darkness that involved dodging trains travelling at up to 160km per hour.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
