Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on October 24, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
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An Ethiopian asylum seeker was mistakenly released from UK prison after a sex assault conviction, sparking protests and a government probe.
LONDON (Reuters) -An Ethiopian asylum seeker who sexually assaulted a teenage girl and another woman in Britain, sparking summer-long angry protests outside the hotel where he was living, has been accidentally released from jail, the government said on Friday.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was sentenced to a 12-month term in September for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman.
His arrest in July led to protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, 20 miles (32 km) north of London, which became a touch-paper for other demonstrations amid rising tensions over immigration.
Britain's Secretary of State for Justice David Lammy said he was "appalled" by the error at Chelmsford prison.
Kebatu was meant to be sent to an immigration detention centre to be deported but was freed by mistake.
"We are urgently working with the police to track him down and I've ordered an urgent investigation," Lammy said on X.
"Kebatu must be deported for his crimes, not on our streets."
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
An asylum seeker is a person who flees their home country and seeks protection in another country due to fear of persecution or harm.
Sexual assault is any non-consensual sexual act or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the victim.
A criminal procedure code is a set of laws that outlines the procedures for the prosecution of criminal offenses, including the rights of the accused.
Immigration detention is the practice of holding individuals who are in the process of being deported or whose immigration status is being determined.
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