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Monday, January 4, 2016

'Channel Tunnel Walker' Given Asylum In UK


Abdul Haroun, 40, was arrested at the English end of the tunnel on 4 August, having apparently walked the 31 miles (50km) from the French side.
He was said to have been the first person known to have reached the UK on foot through the tunnel, which would have involved a 12-hour journey in the dark, dodging trains whizzing past at speeds of up to 160kph.
He was charged in the UK with causing an obstruction to an engine or carriage using the railway, under the little-known Malicious Damage Act of 1861.
He was held in custody and told to face trial this month.
In a short hearing at Canterbury Crown Court, where Haroun appeared on video link and spoke only to confirm his name, it was revealed he had been granted asylum on Christmas Eve.
Prosecutor Philip Bennetts asked the court for time to consider how this would affect the charge against him.
The case was adjourned until 18 January and Haroun was bailed to an address supplied by a refugee rights group.
Haroun's background has not been made public but the court heard earlier that his native tongue is Zaghawa, suggesting he may be from Darfur, a part of Sudan that has seen more than a decade of war between government forces and rebels.
His tunnel trek came as thousands of migrants, many from countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Eritrea, camped in squalid conditions near the French city of Calais, hoping to find their way to Britain.

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