Former British soldier spied on Iran and was sentenced to 14 years
Former British soldier spied on Iran and was sentenced to 14 years
A former British soldier who was condemned for Featal was sentenced to more than 14 years in prison on Monday. Daniel Khalife, 23 years old, was condemned in November for a violation of the law on official secrets and against the terrorism law because he passed on confidential information to Iran.
The judgment and the judge's statement
Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said in her judgment: "As a young man, you had the potential to be an exemplary soldier. However, the repeated violations of your vow have proven that you were a dangerous goal." The jury at the Woolwich Crown Court had rejected his statement that he tried to work as a double agent for the United Kingdom.
the escape from prison
khalifes spyfall had initially received little attention until he escaped from the Wandsworth prison *by hiding under a food delivery car. After three days on the escape, the police arrested him on a bike on a channel in London. During his trial, Khalife owed himself to have fled out of prison, but continued to deny the allegations of the espionage.
The defense and the image of a "simple -minded perpetrator"
his lawyer argued that Khalife's actions had more resemblance to a story from "Scooby Doo" than with a James Bond thriller than he said that his client had only passed on inaccurate information, including "ridiculously false" documents that had not caused any actual damage. "There is no reason to assume that what Mr. Khalife did will be a lesson for aspiring spies. His intentions were neither malicious nor cynical," said lawyer Gul Nawaz Hussain.
the indictment and the national security aspect
The public prosecutor, however, pointed out that Khalife had indeed played a “cynical game” by claiming that he wanted to spy after he had handed over a lot of confidential information, including the names of elite soldiers, to the Iranian secret service. Khalife explained that he had had contact with people in the Iranian government, but was all part of a plan to ultimately work as a double agent for Great Britain - a scheme that he came up with through the television program "Homeland".
Contact with MI6 and safety release
The authorities were not aware of Khalife's contacts with Iranians until he anonymously on MI6, the British foreign intelligence service, turned and offered to work as a double agent. He explained that he had won the trust of his Iranian handler and that he had rewarded him with $ 2,000 $ 2,000 in a dog droppings in a park in northern London.
background and consequences of the case
Khalife entered the army at the age of 16 and was assigned to the Royal Corps of Signals, a communication unit, which is used with troops in battle, with special forces and intelligence teams. However, he was told that he could not enter the secret service because his mother comes from Iran. At 17, he had contact with a man who was connected to the Iranian secret service and began to pass on information. During a joint exercise in Fort Cavazos in Texas, he received a NATO safety approval in early 2021.
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