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Daniel Khalife, former soldier who spied for Iran, jailed for more than 14 years

2025.02.04, 14:52
Daniel Khalife, former soldier who spied for Iran, jailed for more than 14 years

Daniel Khalife, a former soldier, has been sentenced to more than 14 years in custody and condemned as a “dangerous fool” for spying for Iran and escaping from prison.

Gunaz.tv

This was reported by the "Guardian".

In September 2023, Khalife, 23, sparked a high-profile manhunt when he broke out of HMP Wandsworth by clinging to the underside of a food delivery truck. At the time he was being held on remand for spying charges.

Last November, a jury at Woolwich crown court found him guilty of breaching the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act by passing on information to Iran while he was serving in the army. During his trial he also admitted escaping from prison before his capture on a canal towpath by a plainclothes detective. He was cleared of carrying out a bomb hoax.

On Monday, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb sentenced him to 14 years and three months at Woolwich crown court.

The sentence involved six years each for breaking the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act, and a further two years and three months for escaping from prison. The sentences will run consecutively, the judge said. An older man committing these offences would have had a noticeably longer sentence, she added.

In her sentencing remarks, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said: “Deterring others from similar behaviour must be the primary aim of this sentence.” The judge said Khalife was motivated by a “selfish desire to show off”.

The trial heard how Khalife had “exposed military personnel to serious harm” by collecting sensitive information and passing it on to Iranian agents for cash.

The judge said Khalife had exploited a security flaw in the army personnel computer system to screenshot the names of soldiers, including seven in the special forces. She said this was a “very serious example” of a breach of anti-terror laws.

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