A Sudaneseandnbsp;http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/immigration/index.htmlmigrantandnbsp;who walked through the Channel Tunnel before being granted asylum has claimed he would 'not have come to Britain' if he had known he was going to be locked up.
Abdul Rahman Haroun, 40, said he felt he had 'done nothing wrong' by fleeing his war-torn homeland in the Darfur region of Sudan and walking 31 miles through the Tunnel to the UK.
He was arrested after arriving in Folkestone, Kent, last August and held on remand for four months after being charged with obstructing a railway.
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Sudanese migrant Abdul Rahman Haroun (pictured centre leaving Elmley Prison on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent) said he would 'not have come to Britain' had he known he would have been arrested and held in prison
Abdul Rahman Haroun, 40 (pictured leaving Elmley Prison in Kent), said he felt he had 'done nothing wrong' by fleeing his war-torn homeland in the Darfur region of Sudan and walking 31 miles through the Tunnel to the UK
He was later released on bail in January, after successfully applying for the right to stay in Britain and being granted asylum.
Prosecutors considered dropping the charges against Mr Haroun but revealed last month that they still intend to prosecute him and he will now face a trial later this year.
Speaking publicly for the first time about his case, Mr Haroun told the Daily Telegraph: 'I came because my life was in danger. I did not know I was going to be held in a police cell. If I had known I would not have come.'
He added that he felt as though 'no one liked me' when he arrived in the UK, but said he had changed his mind after receiving dozens of cards and letters of support during his time in prison.
Peter Bone, the Conservative MP for Wellingborough, said that Mr Haroun's comments proved that deterrence could work to stop migrants crossing through the Channel Tunnel into Britain.
He told the newspaper: 'That's the sort of message we want to get out. You can't break the law, and if you do you are going to face consequences. Perhaps his statement should be plastered up at the entrance to the Channel Tunnel.'
The decision to continue with the prosecution of Mr Haroun came after a judge told him last month that the case against him could be dropped following a decision to grant him the right to stay in Britain.
The prosecutors' announcement that he will in fact be pursued through the courts was praised by both Eurotunnel and Damian Collins, the Conservative MP for Folkestone and Hythe.
The Crown Prosecution Service's earlier consideration of whether to proceed with the case against the migrant had sparked heated criticism.
At the time, Mr Collins said: 'If we are going to defend the border and also we are going to stop people doing what he did we need to send a strong message.
'We are now doing that and if you are going to break into our country through the Channel Tunnel and endanger not only your life but the lives of others - either travelling through or working in the tunnel - then you will face prosecution and face the full weight of the law.
'I still also believe that this man should not have been granted asylum after clearly breaking into the country in the way he did.'
Mr Haroun walked the 31 miles through the tunnel on August 4 last year, dodging passing trains travelling at 100mph.
However, once in Folkestone and after being arrested, he successfully applied for the right to stay in Britain and was granted asylum on December 24 last year.
When he appeared at Canterbury Crown Court last month it emerged that the CPS had asked for the case to be listed on March 3 for further legal argument.
Judge Adele Williams then set a provisional trial date for June 20 before releasing Mr Haroun – who denies the charge - on bail at the end of the five-minute hearing.
Abdul Rahman Haroun, 40, said he fled Sudan and walked 31 miles through the Tunnel because 'my life was in danger'. He added: 'I did not know I was going to be held in a police cell. If I had known I would not have come'
Mr Haroun was greeted at the court by several members of the Kent Refugee Help group, who chanted his name and those of two Iranian men who followed him through the tunnel in October last year.
Having been granted asylum, Mr Haroun is now living in state-subsidised accommodation in east Kent and is able to collect ÂŁ36.95 from his local post office each week.
Eurotunnel previously welcomed the news that the Sudanese migrant will face a trial.
A spokesman said: 'We believe that where a criminal act has been committed that the law should be adhered to following such an act.
'The decision to continue with a prosecution also sends a strong message being sent by the justice system that it is not alright to break into the UK by any means.
'We considered the message given at the last hearing to be ambiguous. If the law is going to prosecute this fully then we support that position.'