British police search London for asylum-seeker mistakenly released from prison

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LONDON (AP) — British police said Saturday they were scouring hours of closed-circuit TV recordings to find an asylum-seeker sentenced for sexual assault who was mistakenly released from prison.

Ethiopian national Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was “last seen in the London area,” Essex Police said Saturday, adding that officers from three separate forces were working together in the investigation.

Kebatu came to national attention after his case triggered a wave of anti-migrant protests in London and other cities in recent months.

He was sentenced in September to 12 months in prison for five offenses, including the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl in July in Epping, on the outskirts of London, just over a week after he had arrived in England by boat.

Authorities said they were alerted Friday afternoon that Kebatu was released by mistake at a prison in Chelmsford, Essex, and was seen catching a train there. British media reported that he was wrongly categorized as a prisoner due to be released, instead of being sent to an immigration detention center.

“Officers worked throughout the night to track his movements, including scouring hours of CCTV footage, and this work continues today,” a police statement said.

“It is not lost on us that this situation is concerning to people, and we are committed to locating and arresting him as quickly as possible," it added.

The Prison Service launched an investigation, and a prison officer has been removed from discharging duties while that takes place.

Kebatu’s arrest and prosecution prompted thousands of people to protest outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, northeast of London, where he was staying along with other newly arrived migrants. Multiple protests targeting other hotels housing migrants followed in other British cities and towns, with some demonstrations attended by far-right activists and spilling into disorder.

The group Stand Up to Racism also rallied in counterprotests.

Tensions have long simmered over unauthorized migration — especially the tens of thousands of migrants crossing the English Channel in overloaded boats to reach the U.K. — as well as the Labour government’s policy of using hotels to house migrants who are awaiting a decision on their asylum status.

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