A
Sudanese man accused of walking almost the entire length of the
undersea Channel Tunnel from France to Britain has been granted asylum,
his representative said on Monday.
Abdul
Rahman Haroun, 40, was arrested in Kent, southeast England, in August
on suspicion of passing through the 31-mile (50 km) tunnel.
Shortly
after his arrest Haroun applied for asylum, which was granted on
December 24, though he only got the news Monday in Canterbury Crown
Court.
"I
can confirm, as was stated in open court today, that Mr Haroun has been
granted asylum," caseworker Sadie Castle of law firm Kent Defence told
AFP.
Haroun
was charged under an 1861 law on malicious damage with causing an
obstruction to an engine or carriage using the railway, but the case has
now been adjourned for two weeks so prosecutors can decide whether to
proceed with it, Castle added.
Haroun,
dressed in a grey tracksuit, appeared in court via a CCTV link from
nearby Elmley Prison, where he has been detained since his arrest, local
media reported.
Judge
Adele Williams ordered that he be freed on the condition that he
reports at his local police station once a week, and he is due back in
court on January 18.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges at an earlier hearing.
His
legal team previously argued that their client qualified for protection
under Article 31 of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, of which Britain is
a signatory.
This
states that members "shall not impose penalties, on account of their
illegal entry or presence, on refugees who, coming directly from a
territory where their life or freedom was threatened... enter or are
present in their territory without authorisation."
Source: AFP
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