Sudanese immigrant faces ‘Channel Tunnel walk’ charges

A man who is alleged to have walked nearly the entire length of the Channel Tunnel from France to the UK has appeared in court.

He is charged under an 1861 law on malicious damage with causing an obstruction to an engine or carriage using the railway.

Abdul Rahman Haroun, who is Sudanese and of no fixed address, is set to appear at Canterbury Crown Court later today.

Through the interpreter, Haroun, who had short hair and was wearing a light grey t-shirt, confirmed his name and said he was not guilty of the charge against him.

According to British police, he scaled security fences on August 4 – avoiding detection by hundreds of CCTV cameras and search teams with sniffer dogs – and gained access to the tunnel. 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.

Eurotunnel says the incident was extremely risky, with trains traveling up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) an hour.

Little is known about Haroun.

If the case goes to trial, it will start in January.