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Former British soldier convicted of spying for Iran after audacious prison escape is sentenced to 14 years


A former British soldier convicted of spying for Iran after an audacious three-day escape from a London jail was sentenced Monday to greater than 14 years behind bars for betraying his nation.

Daniel Khalife, 23, was convicted in November of violating the Official Secrets and techniques Act and Terrorism Act for offering restricted and categorised materials to Iran.

“As a younger man you had the makings of an exemplary soldier, nonetheless, by way of the repeated violations of your oath of service, you confirmed your self to be as an alternative a harmful idiot,” Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb mentioned.

“You’re an consideration seeker and also you loved the notoriety you attracted following your escape from jail,” the choose added, according to the BBC.

FILE PHOTO: Police search for former soldier suspected of terrorism offences after prison escape, in London
A needed signal that includes a picture of Daniel Abed Khalife, a former soldier who’s suspected of terrorism offences, is displayed, close to Wandsworth jail which he escaped from, in London, Britain, September 7, 2023.

Anna Gordon / REUTERS


Jurors in Woolwich Crown Court docket had rejected his testimony that he was making an attempt to work for the U.Okay. as a double agent.

Khalife’s spying case had not obtained a lot consideration till he broke out of Wandsworth Jail on the underbelly of a meals supply truck. He was on the run for 3 days earlier than police arrested him on a bicycle by a canal in London.

Khalife pleaded responsible to the escape throughout his trial, however continued to contest the spying fees.

Khalife’s lawyer, who argued his acts have been extra like a plot from “Scooby Doo” than a James Bond thriller, mentioned his shopper had solely handed alongside imprecise data, together with “laughably faux” paperwork that precipitated no precise harm.

“There isn’t any manner that what Mr. Khalife did goes to wind up being a lesson for budding spies,” lawyer Gul Nawaz Hussain mentioned. “His intentions have been neither sinister nor cynical.”

The court docket additionally heard quite a lot of mitigating components, together with a psychological report from 2023 diagnosing him with Delinquent Persona Dysfunction and Narcissistic Persona Dysfunction, the BBC reported.

However prosecutors mentioned Khalife had in actual fact performed a “cynical recreation” by claiming he needed to be a spy after he had delivered a considerable amount of restricted and categorised materials to the Iranian intelligence service, together with the names of particular forces officers.

Khalife testified that he had been in contact with individuals within the Iranian authorities however that it was all a part of a ploy to in the end work as a double agent for Britain, a scheme he developed from watching the TV present “Homeland.”

The BBC reported that he was cleared of perpetrating a bomb hoax at his army barracks at RAF Stafford in 2023, after three wired cannisters have been left on the base the place he lived and labored.

Authorities mentioned he introduced a real danger to nationwide safety due to the risk that Iran poses. Police famous that the U.Okay. has disrupted 20 plots by Iran, together with assassination plans.

British safety companies weren’t conscious of Khalife’s contacts with the Iranians till he contacted MI6, the U.Okay.’s international intelligence service, to supply to work as a double agent.

He reached out to MI6 anonymously, saying he had earned the belief of his Iranian handlers and that they’d rewarded him by leaving $2,000 money ($1,578 kilos) in a canine poo bag in a north London park.

Khalife joined the military at 16 and was assigned to the Royal Corps of Alerts, a communications unit that’s deployed with battlefield troops, in addition to particular forces and intelligence squads.

He was informed he couldn’t be part of the intelligence service as a result of his mom is from Iran.

At 17, he reached out to a person related with Iranian intelligence and started passing alongside data, prosecutors mentioned. He was given NATO secret safety clearance when he took half in a joint train at Fort Cavazos in Texas in early 2021.

The choose famous that his safety breaches whereas on U.S. soil may have precipitated diplomatic harm.

Khalife’s escape from the Victorian-era jail drew consideration to bigger failures within the nation’s growing older and overcrowded correctional system. An inquiry is at present underway into how Khalife was in a position to escape and whether or not others helped.

An audit discovered 81 safety failings on the jail, the BBC reported. It additionally resulted in upgrades being made to CCTV cameras which had not labored for greater than a yr, the jail’s Impartial Monitoring Board mentioned.

Two males have been arrested on fees of serving to him after he escaped.


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