Freedom for channel walker Abdul Rahman Haroun!
At the start of August, Abdul Rahman Haroun, a Sudanese man, was arrested just short of the exit to the Channel Tunnel in Folkstone, UK, having walked 50km through the tunnel from Calais. He successfully crossed the Channel Tunnel on foot, making it to the UK unharmed and undetected. The British and French governments pretend that they can control the flows of people across the border, spending millions of pounds on fences and cameras. They like to believe they can turn the UK into a fortress but Abdul Rahman Haroun has proved them wrong and because of that they intend to make an example out of him.
Having traveled from Sudan all the way to Britain to seek sanctuary, he now faces up to two years in prison. He has been charged under an outdated piece of legislation, the Malicious Damages Act of 1861, ‘for obstructing a railway carriage or engine’. He had a court date on the 24th of August where he plead not guilty but was remanded in custody by the judge. Being placed on remand for such an offence relates to the political nature of his arrest and is totally uncalled for. He has a further hearing in November and following that a trial in January 2016. He is currently being held in HMP Elmley in Kent.
As he is being prosecuted under such an arcane piece of legislature (the Malicious Damages Act has its history in the criminilsation of dissent by the Luddites in the 18th Century and has recently been used to detain protesters involved in direct action), his prosecution is clearly a politically motivated attack on the freedom of movement designed to intimidate those who would follow his example.
His actions have made him a target but he has a good defense. Under Section 31 of the Refugee Convention and within British law, it is accepted that people may enter the UK ‘illegally’ if doing so to claim asylum. However, as we have witnessed in the past few years, the Tories don’t care much for ‘human rights’ and Abdul needs our solidarity and support to fight their malicious form of justice.
As it stands, his remand means that even if he is found not guilty at trial, he will have already spent 5 months in jail. However, it would not stop there, if found guilty it could have serious consequences for his ability to regularise his status in the UK. A dual punishment that often occurs in the UK, where people who have served out the sentence for their ‘crimes’ (which can be offenses related to immigration) are then punished a second time, by being denied Indefinite Leave to Remain or by being immediately deported (if their country of origin is a country the UK considers ‘safe’).
Abdul’s incarceration and prosecution is an attempt to set a clear example to anyone considering the same journey as him. An attempt to put fear and doubt into the heads of people in Calais about what awaits them on the other side of the channel. We must show them that they cannot scare us into submission with their prisons and their courts!
We absolutely condemn the continued incarceration and prosecution of Abdul. Freedom for Abdul. Freedom for all those detained and incarcerated by the border regime. No one is free until we are all free!
Calais Migrant Solidarity
Documenting police harassment of migrants in Calais and strengthening resistance against the border regime