Daniel Khalife, a spectacular escape to the United Kingdom

2023-09-07 21:53:01
Photo of Daniel Abed Khalife provided by the Metropolitan Police. (Metropolitan Police via AP) METROPOLITAN POLICE / AP

The British government may promise that Daniel Abed Khalife, prosecuted for “terrorist offence”, will be arrested and tried, for more than twenty-four hours, this ex-British soldier is in the nature. His unnoticed escape in a delivery truck sparked a nationwide manhunt and sparked bewilderment and questions about the prison system.

The 21-year-old is suspected of having collected intelligence that could be used by terrorists or enemies of the United Kingdom. According to several media, including BBC, he is suspected of having acted for the benefit of Iran. Daniel Khalife is being prosecuted for acts dating back to January and August 2021, on a Royal Air Force base in Strafford, in central England. He is accused of having obtained or attempted to obtain information “about an individual who was or was a member” of the British army, “likely to be used by a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism”. He is also being prosecuted for a false bomb threat on January 2. He denies the accusations against him.

Under a delivery truck

According to the course of events made public by the authorities, the absence of the detainee was reported almost twenty minutes after a vehicle left the London prison of Wandsworth on Wednesday September 6 at around 7.30 a.m. local time (8.30 a.m. in Paris ) after making a delivery to the kitchens. Straps were found under the vehicle, suggesting he was strapped into it.

Despite an escape that took place in the heart of London, no report was recorded Thursday evening, said the police of the capital, of which more than 150 agents are dedicated to the investigation, in addition to alerting all the forces of the country.

For fear of seeing the fugitive leave the country, security was reinforced at airports and ports, leading to the temporary closure of exits from the motorway in the south-east of England which leads to the cross-Channel port of Dover, allowing in particular to join France.

Wandsworth, 19th century prison

Faced with a host of questions raised by this escape, the Minister of Justice announced several investigations into the level of security at Wandsworth prison and the decision to imprison Daniel Khalife there.

Labor MP Rosena Allin-Khan denounced in Parliament the inadequate and dangerous working conditions of prison staff in this establishment, citing insufficient numbers. The opposition questions the presence in this reputedly dilapidated prison dating from the 19th century, and not in a high security establishment, of this inmate prosecuted for charges relating to national security. She pointed out that Wandsworth Prison was of particular concern because of understaffing, which reached 30% of staff when last checked two years ago.

Downing Street rejected any government responsibility for staffing issues, claiming to have hired 4,000 people for the prison system since 2017 and planning 5,000 additional posts, in addition to investing in opening 20,000 places for prisoners .

Wandsworth prison was once the scene of one of the country’s best-known escapes, that of Ronnie Biggs in 1965, who was serving a 30-year prison sentence for the attack on the Glasgow-London mail train two years previously. After preening himself with a rope ladder, he lived abroad for 36 years, including Australia and Brazil, before being arrested in 2001 when he voluntarily returned to the UK. . Released for medical reasons in 2009, he died in 2013.

The World with AFP