British Soldier Caught Spying for Iran

[tomahawk6]

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=6020401

LONDON (Reuters) - A soldier who worked for Britain's top commander in Afghanistan became a spy for Iran after being passed over for promotion, a court heard on Monday.


Corporal Daniel James, 45, contacted Iranian officials in Kabul while working in "a very trusted and sensitive position" as interpreter for General David Richards, the British commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, prosecutors told Britain's Central Criminal Court.

"The allegation in this case is that during the latter part of 2006, the defendant's loyalty to this country wavered and his loyalties turned to Iran, the country of his birth," prosecutor Mark Dennis said.

James denies the charges.

The court was told James made telephone contact with Colonel Mohammad Hossein Heydari who worked as Iran's military attache at its embassy in Kabul and sent him coded messages in emails.

"(James was in) a unique position to overhear and glean a good deal of operational or strategic information if he chose to do so," Dennis said.

"As General Richards himself puts it, the defendant's value as a hostile intelligence agent to a third party with aims contrary to that of the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) and the government of Afghanistan cannot be underestimated."

He was arrested in December 2006, a few months after contact had been made. Police found a USB computer memory storage device in his kitbag with confidential documents, including details of military troop movements and knowledge of insurgent activities.

The court heard that James, who became a British citizen in 1986 and had previously worked as a salsa dance teacher in Brighton, southern England, believed certain officers had been racist and had prevented him being promoted to sergeant.

He was also said to be a fantasist.

"He has been described as something of a Walter Mitty character who would no doubt find his new clandestine role as something exciting and special," Dennis said.

James denies three charges under the Official Secrets Act of communicating and collecting information likely to be useful to an enemy, and willful misconduct in a public office

 

[Cloud Cover]

The court heard that James, who became a British citizen in 1986 and had previously worked as a salsa dance teacher in Brighton, southern England, believed certain officers had been racist and had prevented him being promoted to sergeant.

he's gonna have a ball at the prison dance!!!  :-X

 

[1feral1]

A few words come to mind.....

TREASON!

GALLOWS!

JUSTICE!

Snap goes the neck!

OWDU

 

[CougarKing]

...He was also said to be a fantasist.

"He has been described as something of a Walter Mitty character who would no doubt find his new clandestine role as something exciting and special," Dennis said.

James denies three charges under the Official Secrets Act of communicating and collecting information likely to be useful to an enemy, and willful misconduct in a public office

Walt!!!!!!!!! ;D ;D

 

[fire_guy686]

Well I'd say this will definitely take away any chances he ever had for getting promoted.

 

[twistedcables]

The Brits are having a tough time dealing with sensitive information these days.  Now if only they could find them hard drives...

 

[Blackadder1916]

Army interpreter's 'bizarre character'
An Army interpreter accused of spying for Iran wore unusual clothing, worked out constantly and invited the head of Nato forces to salsa dancing lessons, a court has heard.

By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent  Telegraph.co.uk  Last Updated: 2:55AM BST 15 Oct 2008

General David Richards described his former interpreter, Cpl Daniel James, as a "Walter Mitty character" and said he was not surprised to hear he called himself "General James."

Dressed in a dark suit and tie, Gen Richards, the former head of Nato forces in Afghanistan, was giving evidence against Cpl James at the Old Bailey.

Cpl James, 45, who changed his name from Esmail Mohammed Beigi Gamasai after arriving in Britain from Iran as a teenager, is accused of sending emails to an Iranian military officer and leaking two sensitive situation reports.

Gen Richards, now Commander in Chief of Britain's land forces, agreed that James, two ranks from the bottom of the British army, was probably the lowest ranking soldier to have acted as his translator but added: "There was no alternative."

"He was very ebullient, something of a Walter Mitty character," said Gen Richards. "He obviously didn't mind being pointed out. "We have a floppy sun hat to keep the sun off and he would wear a cape-y thing at the back. He would also go to the gym a lot and he was keen to look after himself. He liked the limelight a lot."

Cpl James, a corporal in the Territorial Army, also ran salsa dance classes at the camp in Kabul, and the general added: "I remember he asked if I wanted to go. I declined.

"One of those things would have caused comment, the three were close to bizarre."

Gen Richards described Cpl James as a "complex character" who could talk in depth about Iran but sometimes ended up "acting up" during the general's speeches.

"I found him interesting and intelligent," the General told the Old Bailey, "but the next occasion he would get on a high and under my breath I had to say, 'Don't forget, I'm doing the speech.'"

Cpl James would sometimes talk to Afghan elders himself, made "valuable contacts" and handed out business cards in which he had misspelled "translator", the court heard.

Gen Richards said: "He had discussions that I wasn't privy to and I had to indicate that he was only there as an interpreter."

His junior officers, he said, considered Cpl James a "nightmare" because he was always late, but he liked his enthusiasm.

Gen Richards said his translator was involved in conversations of a "sensitive nature" although they were "more strategic than operational."

He attended two meetings with the Iranian ambassador, the court was told, and had to translate for the Afghan Minister of the Interior and the head of the Afghan National Army.

The situation reports which were allegedly found on a memory stick in Cpl James's kit bag when he was arrested, were supposed to be sent from Gen Richards office in Kabul, up the chain of command to the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, based in Mons, Belgium.

Gen Richards said he was "surprised" to find Cpl James had copies of the reports, which detail weekly troop movements and communications in Afghanistan, and should only have been given out with his permission.

He said he was aware of Cpl James's ambition to be promoted to sergeant but admitted Cpl James was "phlegmatic" when told he wouldn't be considered before the end of the tour of duty.

Asked is he ever doubted Cpl James's loyalty, Gen Richards said: "No I had no reason to doubt it. Our presumption, and 99.9 per cent of the time we are right, is that anyone who joins the British Army is loyal to the Crown."

Cpl James denies two charges under the Official Secrets Act and one of misconduct in public office and the trial continues.

 

[geo]

Good lord !!!

 

[OldSolduer]

Well. Hmmm....the Brits seem to have a problem with spies...but then again we've had our share I think.
At least this guy wasn't parading around London in a school girl costume.

 

[FoverF]

...this is hard for me...
(deep breath)...

+1, Overwatch Downunder, +1.

I have as much respect for human life as the next man, but I also still have some respect for a man's oath, and for the welfare of the thousands of men who's lives this guy (allegedly) put at risk. If you can't do the time, don't do the crime (and, even in our enlightened times, if you can't take the noose, don't sell the secrets of HM's armies to the enemies of the state). 

'ANG 'IM 'IGH

(provided, of course, he is found guilty of the charges pending against him after a fair trial).

 

[GAP]

(provided, of course, he is found guilty of the charges pending against him after a fair trial).

After he is hung, he will be found guilty.... ;D

 

[Blackadder1916]

Though the inclination shown on this thread is for the accused to be hanged* for his offence (despite the total abolition of the death penalty in the UK even for offences under military jurisdiction in wartime), it should be noted that he is not charged with espionage (death penalty abolished in 1981) or treason (1998) but with offences under the Official Secrets Acts.  These were not previously subject to capital punishment.  If convicted of a felony under the Official Secrets Acts, he faces a minimum of three years and a maximum of fourteen years for such an offence.

http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?activeTextDocId=1074109

Provisions as to trial and punishment of offences. —

(1) Any person who is guilty of a felony under the principal Act or this Act shall be liable to penal servitude for a term of not less than three years and not exceeding fourteen years.

(2) Any person who is guilty of a misdemeanour under the principal Act or this Act shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment, . . . F5 for a term not exceeding two years, or, on conviction under the Summary Jurisdiction Acts, to imprisonment, . . . F5 for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, or both such imprisonment and fine:
Provided that no misdemeanour under the principal Act or this Act shall be dealt with summarily except with the consent of the Attorney General.

* colloquially,  he may already be hung

 

[Retired AF Guy]

As my old Sgt-major would say, just before Orders parade, "March the guilty bastard in!!

 

[1feral1]

Good lord !!!

Concurr  ;D !!

 

[FoverF]

* colloquially,  he may already be hung

Inappropriate 

 

[OldSolduer]

If he is guilty as charged, may be housed in a cell with a very large....man.....who has tendencies....I'm sure you know what I mean.... >

 

[geo]

Speculation herre....
Any legal eagle here to comment on the possibility that, if found guilty, he could be stripped of his "new" UK Citzenship & get a one way ticket back to Ayatolahland ???

 

[Blackadder1916]

Speculation herre....
Any legal eagle here to comment on the possibility that, if found guilty, he could be stripped of his "new" UK Citzenship & get a one way ticket back to Ayatolahland ???

I'd say it's "faintly possible" but "highly improbable" in that he has been a UK citizen for 22 years (and joined the TA 21 years ago).  As well there is no indication (from reading press reports) that he obtained British citizenship through "fraud, false representation, or concealment of a material fact".

Prior to 2003 the law respecting deprivation of UK citizenship included the following sub-section.

British Nationality Act 1981 (c. 61)
Deprivation of citizenship.
40.
. . .
(3) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Secretary of State may by order deprive any British citizen to whom this subsection applies of his British citizenship if the Secretary of State is satisfied that that citizen —
(a)has shown himself by act or speech to be disloyal or disaffected towards Her Majesty; or
(b)has, during any war in which Her Majesty was engaged, unlawfully traded or communicated with an enemy or been engaged in or associated with any business that was to his knowledge carried on in such a manner as to assist an enemy in that war; or
(c)has, within the period of five years from the relevant date, been sentenced in any country to imprisonment for a term of not less than twelve months.
. . .

However after amendment in 2003 the following is now the complete text of that section.

British Nationality Act 1981 (c. 61)

Deprivation of citizenship.
[ F1 40. (1) In this section a reference to a person’s “citizenship status” is a reference to his status as—
(a)a British citizen,
(b)a British overseas territories citizen,
(c)a British Overseas citizen,
(d)a British National (Overseas),
(e)a British protected person, or
(f)a British subject.

[F2 (2) The Secretary of State may by order deprive a person of a citizenship status if the Secretary of State is satisfied that deprivation is conducive to the public good.]

(3) The Secretary of State may by order deprive a person of a citizenship status which results from his registration or naturalisation if the Secretary of State is satisfied that the registration or naturalisation was obtained by means of—
(a)fraud,
(b)false representation, or
(c)concealment of a material fact.

(4) The Secretary of State may not make an order under subsection (2) if he is satisfied that the order would make a person stateless.

(5) Before making an order under this section in respect of a person the Secretary of State must give the person written notice specifying—
(a)that the Secretary of State has decided to make an order,
(b)the reasons for the order, and
(c)the person’s right of appeal under section 40A(1) or under section 2B of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997 (c. 68).

(6) Where a person acquired a citizenship status by the operation of a law which applied to him because of his registration or naturalisation under an enactment having effect before commencement, the Secretary of State may by order deprive the person of the citizenship status if the Secretary of State is satisfied that the registration or naturalisation was obtained by means of—
(a)fraud,
(b)false representation, or
(c)concealment of a material fact.]

Annotations:

Amendments (Textual)

F1 Ss. 40, 40A substituted (1.4.2003) for s. 40 by Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (c. 41), ss. 4(1)(4) , 162 (with s. 159); S.I. 2003/754, art. 2(1) , Sch. 1 (with arts. 3, 4, Sch. 2 (as amended by S.I. 2003/1040, art. 2 and S.I. 2003/1339, art. 4))
F2 S. 40(2) substituted (16.6.2006) by Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (c. 13), ss. 56(1) , 62; S.I. 2006/1497, art. 3 , Sch.
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1 S. 40 extended by S.I. 1986/948, art.7(11)
C2 Ss. 40–42, 44–48, 50 extended by British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1990 (c. 34, SIF 87), s. 2(3)
C3 S. 40 amended (18.7.1996) by 1996 c. 41, s. 2(2)
C4 S. 40 modified (19.3.1997) by 1997 c. 20, s. 2(3)

 

[Blackadder1916]

And this case gets a little weirder.

Spy suspect Daniel James says he used voodoo to protect general
Michael Evans, Defence Editor The Times October 24, 2008

The army interpreter accused of spying for Iran while serving in Afghanistan told the Old Bailey yesterday that he was a voodoo priest who had used black magic to protect his military boss from the Taleban in 2006.

Giving evidence for the first time at his trial, Corporal Daniel James, who is charged under the 1911 Official Secrets Act, said he had been trained as a voodoo priest on one of his many trips to Cuba and told the jury: “Black magic is not bad.”

His boss was General Sir David Richards, who in 2006 was commander of the Nato International Security Assistance Force (Isaf). Corporal James, who was in the Territorial Army, was the general's principal interpreter and attended meetings with him with senior members of the Afghan Government.

Under questioning by Colin Nicholls, QC, his defence counsel, Corporal James said he “quite liked” General Richards and used black magic on his behalf, although he emphasised that this was something he carried out without the general needing to be present.

For his voodoo rituals he used a combination of seashells, dust, Tarot cards and candles, and had a picture of General Richards.

Corporal James, 45, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of communicating information and collecting documents useful to an enemy, and one of wilful misconduct in public office.

The jury was told that he had been a salsa dance instructor, bodybuilder, champion power-lifter, an expert in kickboxing, a nightclub doorman and a croupier. He said that he had been talent-spotted by Jonathan Ross and appeared on television in the 1980s. He owned a club in Brighton and liked to be known as “Danny James, King of Salsa”.

One of nine children of affluent parents, Corporal James was born in Tehran as Esmail Mohammed Beigi Gamasai and came to live in Britain when he was 15, attending boarding school in Rottingdean, East Sussex.

He told the court that his job with General Richards was only a “tiny part” of what he did in Kabul. His other activities included organising salsa lessons, Spanish classes, volleyball, football, cricket and women's football.

Before he began interpreting for the general, Corporal James worked for a British colonel at an American camp in Kabul, helping to train the Afghan military. He said he thought that Americans were “fantastic people”. “They are loud and funny, like me,” he said.

The prosecution has claimed that he sent e-mail messages and made telephone calls to a Colonel Mohammad Heydari, a military assistant at the Iranian Embassy in Kabul. The Old Bailey has also heard that when he was arrested at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire in December 2006, on his way back to Afghanistan after a two-week break, police found in his bag a USB memory stick which, among other things, contained copies of two Nato-confidential military “situation reports”.

In written evidence, a British intelligence colonel, identified only as M, said that Corporal James had no right to possess such documents and that it was a “matter of serious concern”. He said that the e-mails that Corporal James sent to the Iranian military assistant, although not damaging in themselves, indicated a situation in which an espionage informant was communicating with a handler and that there was the potential for the interpreter to be “tasked” by the Iranian to obtain confidential material. That could have put British lives at risk and threatened national security, he said.

The trial continues.

 

[Blackadder1916]

British interpreter Daniel James found guilty of spying for Iran

Michael Evans, Defence Editor, From The Times,  November 6, 2008

An Iranian-born British Army interpreter who had a reputation for being a fantasist with ideas above his station was found guilty yesterday of spying for Iran while serving with the senior military commander in Afghanistan.

Corporal Daniel James, 45, who had been in the Territorial Army for 18 years, was convicted at the Old Bailey of one offence under Section 1 of the 1911 Official Secrets Act, of communicating with a military attache at the Iranian Embassy in Kabul in 2006. The maximum sentence is seven years in prison.

He is facing two further charges: breaching the Official Secrets Act for collecting information likely to be useful to an enemy – relating to the discovery of two “Nato-confidential” military situation reports stored on a USB computer memory stick – and an offence of wilful misconduct in public office. He denied all the charges. The jury was unable to reach a verdict in either case and Mr Justice Roderick Evans said that he would accept majority verdicts. The jury’s deliberations continue today.

Senior intelligence officers, the Old Bailey was told, believed that if James had not been arrested in 2006 his betrayal could have cost the lives of British soldiers in Afghanistan and even have put at risk Britain’s national security interests.

James was personal interpreter to General Sir David Richards, who in 2006 was commander of Nato’s International Security Assistance Force. He was able to listen in on confidential conversations between General Richards and Afghan ministers.

General Richards told the trial that he had no inkling that his interpreter was anything other than a loyal member of his staff, yet James had been sending e-mails, some in coded language, to Colonel Mohammad Hossein Heydari at the Iranian Embassy in Kabul.

In one of his e-mails James wrote: “I have taken seven more pictures from those whose job is black.” Prosecution witnesses said “black” referred to covert activities. In another, he wrote: “I am at your service.”

The Old Bailey heard that the Iranians were suspected of supporting the insurgency against British troops in southern Afghanistan.

James had level-one security clearance that allowed him to enter buildings at the Isaf headquarters in Kabul where militarily sensitive discussions took place. When Tony Blair visited the headquarters as Prime Minister, James walked alongside him and took pictures of him.

His real name was Esmail Mohammed Beigi Gamasai, known as Essi. He was born in Tehran and his family still lives in the Iranian capital.

Mobilised for a six-month tour in Afghanistan in March 2006, he served with a unit training Afghan military personnel but was then selected to be the personal interpreter to General Richards. The Old Bailey was told that James was the only British military interpreter available who was considered good enough to work with the general. James spoke both Dari, the commonest Afghan language, and Farsi, his native tongue.

James, who came to live in Britain in his early teens and became a British citizen in 1986, changed his name in 1997.

Mark Dennis, QC, for the prosecution, said that James revelled in being so close to General Richards, but complained that he had been passed over for promotion and was the victim of racism.

Mr Dennis said that his failure to win promotion had been one reason why he switched his loyalties to Iran. The court was also told that he owed £25,000 and had mortgages on four flats, three of which he rented. He called himself the King of Salsa and ran dance classes in Kabul, even inviting General Richards to attend.

The trial was to have started in February but James changed his defence several times.