UK court convicts former soldier of passing intelligence to Iran

Daniel Abed Khalife, who joined service astatine 16, claimed helium was inspired by TV amusement Homeland to enactment arsenic treble agent.

A erstwhile British worker has been convicted of passing connected delicate accusation to radical connected with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

On Thursday, a assemblage astatine Woolwich Crown Court successful London recovered Daniel Abed Khalife blameworthy of breaching the United Kingdom’s Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act aft delivering classified material, including the names of peculiar forces officers, to Iran betwixt May 2019 and January 2022.

The 23-year-old testified successful tribunal that helium had been successful interaction with radical successful the Iranian government, but that it was each portion of a ploy to yet enactment arsenic a treble cause for the UK, a strategy allegedly inspired by the deed TV amusement Homeland.

Khalife maintained helium was a patriot and that helium and his household hated the Iranian government. “Me and my household are against the authorities successful Iran,” he told the jury.

Prosecutors said the defendant, who had anonymously emailed the British overseas quality work MI6 saying helium wanted to beryllium a spy, had played a “cynical game”.

Khalife, who served arsenic a machine technologist successful the army, had besides been charged with leaving a fake weaponry connected a table earlier absconding from his barracks successful January 2023, but the assemblage recovered him not blameworthy of perpetrating a weaponry hoax.

The suspect made nationalist headlines aft helium escaped from London’s Wandsworth Prison successful September 2023, attaching himself to the bottommost of a motortruck utilizing a makeshift sling made from room trousers and carabiners.

He was arrested 3 days aboriginal connected the footpath of the Grand Union Canal successful West London aft a nationwide manhunt.

Recalling the jailbreak successful court, Khalife said helium had been demonstrating his “skillset” successful a bid to person the authorities that it was “foolish” to support him successful prison.

Khalife, who is of Iranian and Lebanese extraction, joined the Royal Corps of Signals, a specializer portion providing communications, IT and cyber enactment to the army, astatine the property of 16.

Police described Khalife arsenic a fantasist and amateurish successful his approach, but said helium had a superior adverse effect connected British interests.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies