Daniel Khalife: Ex-soldier accused of spying for Iran goes on trial

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Daniel Khalife, a former British soldier accused of escaping from Wandsworth prison in 2023, has gone on trial for allegedly collecting sensitive military information for Iran. The court heard that Khalife obtained details of serving members of the armed forces from a personnel system. The prosecution claimed that Iran was a real threat to UK security. Khalife denied all the charges.

Khalife was brought up in southwest London by his Iranian-born mother. He joined the Army in September 2018, two weeks before his 17th birthday. After completing a 23-week course at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, he joined the Royal Corps of Signals, which provides communications, IT, and cyber support. He underwent and passed security clearance before starting his specialist training in 2019 and completed the year-long course in early 2020.

Khalife was later posted to the 16th Signal Regiment in Stafford, which delivers sophisticated digital communication and satellite services to the army. The court heard “we are not talking about the odd personal radio in this case” and that Khalife collected and made digital/paper records of sensitive information while employed to uphold and protect national security.

The jury heard that Khalife had created a contact with the +98 dialling code for Iran in April 2019 and later claimed this had all been part of a double-bluff. He intended to sell himself to the UK security services, and a message was sent to MI6 using the “contact us” page of their website, claiming he wanted to work as a double agent. The message said he had been asked to provide information to the Iranian government and sent a false document for which they paid $2,000 left in a dog-poo bag in Mill Hill Park, north London. The jury was shown a selfie of Khalife taken in the park and a photo of an envelope inside a dog poo bag. The trial is expected to last six weeks. 

Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More

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