The man who called the police on wrongly released Algerian sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif has told how he also saw the arrest nearby of freed Ethiopian prisoner Hadush Kebatu.
Inmate Kaddour-Cherif was re-arrested on Friday after being accidentally released from HMP Wandsworth nine days ago.
The 24-year-old shouted ‘look at the justice of the UK… it’s not my f*****g fault, they released me’ as he was handcuffed on a busy street in Finsbury Park, north London.
Kaddour-Cherif had been serving a sentence for trespass with intent to steal, but had a previous conviction for indecent exposure.
Two weeks prior, sex attack migrant Kebatu was arrested in the very same park following a three-day manhunt thanks to a tip-off from a member of the public.
The 38-year-old Ethiopian was set free from HMP Chelmsford in error just four weeks after being sentenced for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping, Essex while being housed at an asylum seeker hotel.
And an Algerian witness, Nadjib Mekdhia, has now claimed he saw both arrests take place and told Sky News that Kaddour-Cherif came to Finsbury Park as it is an ‘Algerian community area’.
‘When he [Kebatu] got arrested in the park I was there,’ he said.
The man who called the police on wrongly released Algerian sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif has told how he also saw the arrest nearby of Ethiopian freed prisoner Hadush Kebatu
Kaddour-Cherif shouted ‘look at the justice of the UK… it’s not my f*****g fault, they released me’ before telling the witness: ‘You called the police?’
Mekdhia added that he had been searching for sex offender Kaddour-Cherif and even had a newspaper clipping of his face tucked away in his pocket.
The witness, who called the police on his fellow Algerian on Friday, revealed he was ‘very happy when he got arrested’, adding: ‘I don’t like the sex offenders.’
He said: ‘I know him from the community. He has been around here every night since he was released from prison.’
The Algerian had also been present for Kebatu’s arrest in the park a fortnight earlier, he added.
Mr Mekdhia was shouted at by Kaddour-Cherif as he was arrested on Friday with the sex offender saying: ‘You called the police?’
Kaddour-Cherif was released on October 29, but the Prison Service only told police about the error six days later, prompting a manhunt. It is not clear what caused the delay.
The Met found Kaddour-Cherif on Blackstock Road after he was spotted by a member of the public just before 11.30am.
Footage of his arrest, captured by Sky News, showed him initially standing by a police van before officers arrested him, as a small group of people gathered on the pavement to watch – with some filming the scene on their phones.
Wearing a grey hoodie, black beanie and black backpack, he denied that he was ‘Brahim’ and, when asked if he knew him, said: ‘Everyone knows him he’s in [the] news.’
Kaddour-Cherif was filmed being arrested by Met Police officers in Finsbury Park, north London
As he was being arrested, Kaddour-Cherif said the mix up at the prison was the fault of officials
Kaddour-Cherif had been serving a sentence at HMP Wandsworth for trespass with intent to steal. He has a past conviction for indecent exposure
Police began to handcuff his hands in front of him, telling him: ‘You’re going to be placed under arrest on suspicion of being wanted… because you look identical to the person released from custody.’
Officers brought him to the back of the van and held up an image of Kaddour-Cherif next to his face before un-cuffing and re-cuffing his hands behind his back. They then searched his backpack and found a laptop, umbrella and wallet.
Before Kaddour-Cherif was put in the back of the van, he turned to those gathered and said: ‘Look at the justice of the UK they release people by mistake after this they “ah ah ah”, it’s not my f****** fault.’
When a journalist asked: ‘Why didn’t you hand yourself in?’, he appeared to look at the police around him and said: ‘Do your job.’
Another prisoner, Billy Smith, 35, was also accidentally freed from Wandsworth on Monday before handing himself back in.
While Kaddour-Cherif’s arrest will come as a relief to the government, it will do little to dampen the backlash against David Lammy, who has been branded ‘cowardly’ and ‘incompetent’ for his handling of the issue.
After confirming the Algerian had been rearrested, Mr Lammy said: ‘We inherited a prison system in crisis and I’m appalled at the rate of releases in error this is causing. I’m determined to grip this problem, but there is a mountain to climb which cannot be done overnight.’
The Met said in a statement: ‘At 11.23am on Friday, November 7, a call was received from a member of the public reporting a sighting of a man they believed to be Brahim Kaddour-Cherif in the vicinity of Capital City College on Blackstock Road in Islington.
British national William Smith (pictured), who goes by Billy, was also mistakenly freed from the scandal-hit prison on Monday but handed himself in
‘Officers responded immediately and at 11.30am detained a man matching Cherif’s description. His identity was confirmed and he was arrested for being unlawfully at large.
‘He was also arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker in relation to a previous unrelated incident. He has been taken into police custody. The Prison Service has been informed.’
He was accidentally let out five days after the wrongful release of Epping migrant hotel sex attacker Kebatu.
Stronger security checks were announced for prisons and an independent investigation was launched into releases in error after Kebatu was accidentally freed on October 24, prompting a three-day manhunt.
The Ethiopian national had been jailed for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman, but was freed by mistake instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre. He was later traced and deported.
Kebatu, whose offences sparked protests outside The Bell Hotel in Epping and around the country, was awaiting transfer to an immigration detention centre ahead of his planned deportation, but bungling prison staff freed him instead.
The convicted sex offender was filmed in Chelmsford speaking to members of the public before boarding a 12.41pm train to Stratford, east London.
CCTV showed Kebatu in the Dalston area of Hackney just before 8pm on October 24. He was also picked up at a library in Dalston Square around two hours earlier, wearing a prison grey tracksuit while clutching a white tote bag with avocados on it.
This is the moment Hadush Kebatu (second from left) was arrested by Met Police officers in Finsbury Park, north London
Kebatu was arrested by Met officers in the Finsbury Park area of London at around 8.30am this morning
A CCTV image issued by the Metropolitan Police (pictured) shows Hadush Kebatu in Dalston, London, on October 24
His movements on October 25 are unclear but the Met Police confirmed that he was finally caught in Finsbury Park on October 26 morning, three days after being mistakenly freed.
In a picture of his arrest, Kebatu – who had access to funds – was seen wearing jeans, a puffer jacket and a hood over his head, having managed to change out of his prison tracksuit. Footage showed him being bundled into the back of a police van.
Commander James Conway, who has overseen the operation to find Kebatu, said: ‘This has been a diligent and fast paced investigation led by specialist officers from the Metropolitan Police, supported by Essex Police and the British Transport Police.
‘Information from the public led officers to Finsbury Park and following a search, they located Mr Kebatu. He was detained by police, but will be returned to the custody of the Prison Service.
‘I am extremely grateful to the public for their support following our appeal, which assisted in locating Mr Kebatu.’
The Met confirmed a member of the public saw someone matching Kebatu’s appearance at a bus stop near Finsbury Park Station at 8.03am. The force deployed officers and found Kebatu inside the park, close to the entrance opposite Finsbury Park Road, at 8.19am.
He was then arrested for being unlawfully at large.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘Hadush Kebatu has been arrested and will be deported. Officers have worked quickly and diligently to bring him back into custody. We have ordered an investigation to establish what went wrong. We must make sure this doesn’t happen again.’
His deputy, David Lammy, has ordered the ‘immediate strengthening of release checks and a full investigation into what went wrong’.
