Sudanese migrant who walked Channel Tunnel to UK will fight charge

CANTERBURY — A Sudanese migrant who walked 50 km (31 miles) from France to Britain through the Channel Tunnel as trains rushed past, only to be caught near the British exit, appeared in court on Monday and said he was not guilty of an obscure 19th-century offense. Abdul Haroun, 40, made global headlines after his dangerous crossing on Aug. 4 highlighted the desperation of thousands of migrants camping in squalor near the French end of the tunnel at Calais as they seek clandestine ways to reach Britain. Part of a wider European migration crisis, the chaos in Calais has disrupted traffic, prompted a security crackdown by French and British police, and divided Britain between those who want tougher measures to keep migrants out and those who call for greater solidarity with people fleeing war or oppression. While most migrants in Calais attempt to hide on lorries or trains bound for Britain, Haroun was the first to make it on foot almost to the tunnel exit at Folkestone in England. Having got past security fences and avoided detection by closed-circuit television cameras and search teams, he spent almost 12 hours walking along the track in the darkness as trains sped past him at speeds of up to 160 kmh (100 mph). He is charged with "obstructing an engine or a carriage using a railway" under the Malicious Damage Act of 1861. His case has stirred debate, with tunnel operator Eurotunnel saying it hoped the full force of the law would be used to deter others from following Haroun's example, while refugee rights campaigners say he should not be prosecuted at all. Little is known about Haroun. His lawyer, Nicholas Jones, told the court his first language was Zaghawa, suggesting that he may be from Darfur, a region ravaged by more than a decade of conflict between Sudanese government forces and rebel groups.