Man arrested outside Israeli embassy describes dangerous boat crossings to UK

Man arrested outside Israeli embassy describes dangerous boat crossings to UK15 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleJulia QuenzlerA court artist sketch of Abdullah Sabah Albadri at the Old Bailey last weekA man arrested trying to break into the Israeli embassy in London, armed with two knives, put his "life on the line" trying to get to the UK, a jury has heard.Abdullah Albadri, from Kuwait, twice entered Britain on a small boat from France - first in 2021, and again in April 2025, shortly before his arrest - the Old Bailey was told.His defence case is likely to be that he was not trying to enter the embassy for a terrorist purpose, and that he was carrying the knives "for a good reason" unrelated to his activities that day, jurors have been told. Albadri, 34, denies the charge of preparing terrorist acts and two charges of possession of a bladed article.He told jurors on Tuesday that he was born into the stateless Arabian Bedoon tribe, on the border between Iraq and Kuwait, and no human rights or passport in Kuwait. Albadri said his father, a police officer, paid for his education until he was 18 and that he later became a human rights activist, having faced a "wall" when it came to higher education. He told the court he was "brutally arrested" for handing out flyers, spending five years in prison where he slept on the floor and there were "a lot of beatings". After being released, he decided to travel to the UK for the "prosperity", "freedom" and "human rights" he had seen on television, jurors heard. His first journey to Dover, Kent, was on a small boat containing 83 people in August 2021. Albadri told the court: "You put your life on the line. Everybody is scared, shouting, fighting. The life jackets is just for a few people, my life jacket I gave to a child." He said he tried to hitch-hike from London to Manchester but fell asleep in the back of a lorry, later wa...