Sudanese migrant who walked Channel Tunnel says not guilty
By Estelle Shirbon CANTERBURY, England (Reuters) - A Sudanese migrant who walked 50 km (31 miles) from France to Britain through the Channel Tunnel as trains rushed past, only to be caught near the British exit, appeared in court on Monday and said he was not guilty of an obscure 19th century offence. Abdul Haroun, 40, made global headlines after his story highlighted the plight of thousands of migrants camping in squalor near the French end of the tunnel at Calais as they desperately seek clandestine ways to reach Britain. Haroun was the first migrant to make it on foot almost to the other end at Folkestone in England. But he now faces a criminal prosecution for "causing an obstruction to an engine or carriage using the railway" under the Malicious Damage Act 1861. He appeared by video-link from Elmley Prison for a brief hearing at Canterbury Crown Court in Kent, southeast of London, assisted by an English-Arabic interpreter who sat in court next to his lawyer, Nicholas Jones. Through the interpreter, Haroun, who had short hair and was wearing a light grey t-shirt, confirmed his name and said he was not guilty of the charge against him. Jones told the court that Haroun's defence would rest on two main planks. The first would be that he caused no obstruction to the railway in the southern Channel Tunnel when he walked through it on Aug. 4. The second would be based on Article 31 of the U.N. Convention on the status of refugees, which in essence says that refugees cannot be prosecuted for using irregular means to enter a country of sanctuary. Haroun scaled security fences and avoided detection by hundreds of closed-circuit television cameras and search teams with sniffer dogs to gain access to the railway tunnel. He then spent almost 12 hours walking along the track in the darkness as trains sped past him at speeds of up to 160 km/hour. Little is known about Haroun's background. Jones told the court that his first language was Zaghawa and that even though he spoke Arabic too it would be helpful if an English-Zaghawa interpreter could be found to assist him. Judge Adele Williams remanded Haroun in custody. She scheduled a plea and case management hearing for Nov. 9 and said if the case went to trial the date would be Jan. 4, 2016. When he heard that he was to remain in prison, Haroun appeared to become agitated, raising both arms and beginning to speak in Arabic, but the judge cut him short and the video-conference link was disconnected. (Editing by William Schomberg and Stephen Addison)
