why is alex moumbaris not in escape from pretoria
In times of uncertainty you need journalism you can trust. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. The arrests at Liliesleaf and convictions which followed at the Rivonia Trial in 1963-4 were followed by widespread roundups of activists and leaders, including Bram Fischer and Wilton Mkwayi. Written and directed by Francis Annan, the historical thriller sheds light on how Stephen and Tim managed to defy all expectations and escape from the Pretoria Central Prison. [18], Jenkin returned to South Africa in 1991 to manage the ANC's communications network. It's not intended as a compliment: "The most deluded of them all," the warden adds, lest it be taken as such. I loaned it to them for the film., No longer having any of the original keys, not even as a keepsake of another life, Jenkin says: I have replicas that look like them, but not the real ones. While the first step toward freedom might have been exhilarating, it was far from their most momentous achievement. [14] He afterwards said the prison was "luxury" compared to French prison. They were never told how the security police got onto them, and Jenkin concluded that it must have been the result of meticulous police work and long surveillance. Tim's door was just the beginning. After months of meticulous surveillance, breath-taking ingenuity, and in a race against time as the authorities strengthen the prison security defenses, the group craft wooden keys for each of the 10 steel doors separating them from the main door and freedom. [7] A new edition was published in Johannesburg and London as Inside Out: Escape from Pretoria Prison in 2003. "We were right underneath an armed guard but he didnt see us. In my early years I had learned to pick the back door lock at home with a piece of wire, he says. [22], After their incarceration, Jenkin, Lee and several other inmates began plotting an escape, which would involve copies of several prison keys that Jenkin made from wood. South African Tim Jenkins' (Daniel Radcliffe) sentence of 12 years in Pretoria's maximum-security prison has to be seen as a warning to other white people repulsed by apartheid. How? As clunkily deployed in the [] "You are the white Mandela," says a ham-faced warden, all but spitting in the face of anti-apartheid activist Tim Jenkin upon his arrival at Pretoria Local Prison in 1978. Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. I wasnt wondering, oh will they make it?. The third prisoner in this true story was in fact Alexandre Moumbaris, Egyptian born of Greek heritage who grew up in Australia and was raised in the UK. The key, fortunately, also worked for the door of Stephen's neighbouring cell. However, escaping - something no inmate had successfully done before - was going to be no easy task. Lee made an escape attempt and nearly succeeded. [16][17][18][19], They were taken to Caledon Square Police Station, the head office of the Security Branch in Cape Town, where they were separated, interrogated and put into cells, without being informed of the charges or their rights. The last 30-odd years have seen such a wealth of diverse, resonant personal histories emerge from the ashes of apartheid not least that of the actual, not-white Mandela that " Escape from. This was legal under Section 6 of the Terrorism Act, which allowed detention without trial for up to 60 days, and was extendable. He was born in Egypt to Greek parents, grew up in Australia, lived and worked in the UK, was imprisoned in South Africa and now lives in France. Just supporting the liberation movement was deemed to be terrorism.. The layout of the prison cell Tim escaped fromAfter making most of the key in his first week, Tim also needed to smuggle it back to his cell. I wanted to go back and do it again, as we hadnt opened that door before., He says: We escaped it a number of times in fact, each time going a bit further, the actual [final] escape was the easy part.. "That gave me the depth of the lock inside, which was the same measurement as the key. Together with his co-writers L.H. . We got through the nine doors and then at the final door, we found we couldnt open the lock. [23], As the plan evolved it became clear that for the escape to be successful it would have to be restricted to three people, who would have to hide in a small closet at one point. They were so convinced that they'd soon find a way out that they had money smuggled in to use for taxi fares once they got out. As it is, its been done cheaply and (sort of) cheerfully as an Australian production by British writer-director Francis Annan, focusing heavily on suspense mechanics as if to modestly understate its factual heft. Distractify is a registered trademark. As clunkily deployed in the script for Escape from Pretoria, however, the line acts as a shortcut to nobility, in a tight genre exercise that has scant time for such elaborate niceties as character development and social context. This virus has brutally disrupted many cinematic dreams. For 14 free days, you can have access to a world of in-depth analyses, investigative journalism, top opinions and a range of features. On 9 January Moumbaris left for France and was welcomed upon arrival in Paris by Marie-Jos (whom he had not seen for seven years), his mother, 7-year-old son Boris, and many friends and well-wishers. He is known for his political activism against the apartheid rgime in South Africa in the 1970s, and his subsequent incarceration in, and 1979 escape from, Pretoria Local . To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. Straining to listen through the grill in his prison cell door, Stephen Lee heard the satisfying click of a key turning in a lock. As he says, for me its just like going to the movies. La historia del activista sudafricano Tim Jenkin inspira Fuga de Pretoria, . Nick Fentons editing, meanwhile, maintains a keen sense of physical space and strain, not least in one comically queasy scene where a dropped key must be retrieved with the aid of a broomstick and chewing gum. After leaving . They would contain simple messages, urging people to support the liberation movement. He returned to France after his escape. Sketchy as it is on human details, Escape from Pretoria gets by on such practical nuts and bolts. Its reputation as a hellhole jail remains, and these days it houses - among 7,000 inmates - none other than disgraced Olympic champion Oscar Pistorius. Jenkins book of the same title was published in 1987, when he was still living as a fugitive from nominal justice in London. [20], In Paris, Moumbaris organised the opening of the ANC office in 1981[21] and continued to assist the struggle against apartheid in various ways, including recruiting comrades for missions in South Africa for MK. peoplepill id: alex-moumbaris. [11] In March 1976 Lee went to Johannesburg to look for work, and the ANC coincidentally sent them both on their first mission, to disperse leaflets urging support for the ANC via a leaflet bomb (using a new design developed by Jenkin) in Johannesburg, close to the anniversary of the Sharpeville Massacre on 21 March. How does one who is an activist, not a locksmith even begin to fashion keys with no knowledge of the mechanisms? Then, one day he was working in a carpentry workshop and it struck him that the key could be wooden. From the very first day, we started to collect intelligence about possible escape routes, says Tim, who now lives in Johannesburg. View our online Press Pack. Moumbaris and Jenkin, by a variety of means, travelled overland to Swaziland and went to United Nations High Commission for Refugees, who were sympathetic to their plight and took them to an ANC representative. [15] Both of them and Lee felt throughout the sooner they got out, the greater the chances of being discovered; the others warned against impatience but agreed the participants should as far as possible be in control.[16]. The French Communist Party published a press release in his support on 20 May 2011. Shop Escape from Pretoria. They then photocopied it and swapped it with other students. We would spot the night warden and your heart is just pumping," said Tim. Once the key was ready to go, they had to work out how to get the door open without the guards noticing. We had . [7][8], Jenkin met Stephen Lee in a sociology class at UCT. He is best known for his 1979 escape from Pretoria Local Prison, along with Stephen Lee and Alex Moumbaris. Locked up in a maximum-security jail for leaflets against apartheid, they embarked on one of the most audacious escapes in history. After his brainwave about fashioning a lock for his cell door while lying on his bunk bed, Tim felt confident the plan would work. Adams and Karol Griffiths, director Annan certainly preserved that unique touch but also added some very entertaining and wonderful cinematic elements to it. At night there were dogs in the yard, Stephen told The Mirror. After months of meticulous surveillance, breath-taking ingenuity, and in a race against time . Tim was inspired by the book Papillon later made into a film starring Dustin Hoffman about a French convicts escape from a jungle island. In September, he and Lee hung a 10-metre-long banner with the words "ANC LIVES" from a high building in the centre of Cape Town, along with a timed device which distributed hundreds of leaflets over the crowds below. It was a wonderful feeling.. They achieved this mission, managing to distribute hundreds of leaflets by means of several leaflet bombs, the text of which is reproduced in Jenkin's memoir. Recalling their rather more successful attempt, Stephen explained: The sense of freedom was amazing. I got a piece of paper and, using a knife, pressed it into the lock. Members' spirits were low and this combination of factors made it difficult for the ANC to re-infiltrate the combatants who had been trained abroad. 40 years after his mad dash for freedom with his collection of wooden keys and one chisel which was, unbelievably, successful Jenkins story is being told in the feature film, with Daniel Radcliffe playing the lead role. It took them a year to get as far as door eleven, the final one. Adams workaday screenplay, the actors signature anxious-earnest mien is leaned on a lot here, as is his overly explanatory voiceover, which provides a broad primer on apartheid for any uninformed viewers, along with a reminder that freedom and equality should be fought for at all costs.. In order to successfully escape from the prison in December 1979, Jenkin unlocked nine doors while Goldberg diverted the warden. Continue without accepting. On 30 December they were flown to Zambia, where they were accommodated under armed guard in Lusaka and their presence was officially announced by the ANC in early January 1980. . He was visited in prison twice a year by his mother and young son, Boris, from France. So it is a very strange sort of thing., Jenkin continues: It is very exciting [to watch] but I knew the outcome. The fact that they were all in prison for their political activities and beliefs united them, and "as members of a revolutionary organisation [they] were disciplined and shared in [their] suffering collectively". But the film still works in lockdown mode as a premium rental. After hundreds of days of looking at the keys, he commits their shape to memory and successfully makes replicas for all nineteen doors that lead to the main gate of the prison. Unwilling to take any more risks, they had to leave this final barrier untested until the night of the actual escape. He escaped with fellow activists Stephen Lee and Alex Moumbaris. Especially the ending of the film we had to break the final door, we were hoping to pull off the ultimate escape without leaving a trace. But Tim Jenkin did, and you may be surprised to learn one of the most daring prison escapes was executed right under the noses of Pretoria Prison guards back in 1979 and involved nothing but the keys made in Jenkins own cell. It couldnt be reached by his cell, so he had to gradually fit that second key to size doing stints cleaning the corridor during prisoners' chore times. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. They had to leave it untested until the actual night of their escape, December 11, 1979 - 18 months after their conviction. Dirigida por Francis Annan y con Daniel Radcliffe en el papel principal, est basada en el libro que el mismo Jenkin escribi relatando la horrible experiencia vivida poco antes de los 80, cuando fue apresado. Banished to the vast prison complex of Pretoria, the countrys administrative capital, Jenkin and Lee are protectively counseled by veteran liberal political prisoner Denis Goldberg (British veteran Ian Hart, giving the character a geezer-y air), who advises them to keep their heads down and to serve their time with dignity as prisoners of conscience. The youngsters, countering that they are instead prisoners of war, immediately set about an escape plan regardless. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. He was born in Egypt to Greek parents, grew up in Australia, lived and worked in the UK, was imprisoned in South Africa and now lives in France. You are the white Mandela, says a ham-faced warden, all but spitting in the face of anti-apartheid activist Tim Jenkin upon his arrival at Pretoria Local Prison in 1978. While their revolutionary deeds helped to change the course of history, their prison escape was that which garnered them real fame. . Written and directed by Francis Annan, the historical thriller sheds light on how Stephen and Tim managed to defy all expectations and escape from the Pretoria Central Prison. [21], Commenting on the 2017 French election, Moumbaris named Franois Asselineau as his favourite candidate, but he would vote for Marine Le Pen rather than Emmanuel Macron, purely based on protection of the nation against Macron's "financial fascism", but was still a staunch communist. [4], Moumbaris and Marie-Jos were caught while trying to enter South Africa from Botswana in 1972, after a previously-arrested comrade informed on them. [8] He and Lee went on a speaking tour in Sweden in the early 1980s. [3], On 23 October 1973, the matter of possible theft of documents from the Clapham Common home of Moumbaris and his wife was raised in the UK parliament by Labour party MP Alex Lyon. Now Escape From Pretoria tells the story of Jenkin and Stephen Lee, two white South African activists, imprisoned in 1978 for working on behalf of the African National Congress (ANC), and their escape from the notorious white mans Robben Island, Pretoria Prison. Something went wrong, please try again later. I started to carve a few little pieces of wood, one for the shaft and one for the bit of the key, Tim told National Geographic. When youre making it the lock is right there, you keep filing it until it fits in the holes. In 2015 he went on a national tour in Australia organised by Karel Boele speaking about his escape and community currencies. While Tim - the technical mastermind - was sentenced to 12 years in jail, his friend Stephen got eight years. [4] He had not grown up in a political family, but when in Britain associated with Communists there and he was inspired by the communist resistance to the Axis occupation of Greece during World War II. Eenmaal onder de vleugels van politiek activist Denis Goldberg besluiten ze om, samen. So I wouldnt say its embellished at all, its quite accurate, he explains. He worked for the ANC Elections Briefing Unit from 1994 (the year of the first fully democratic elections in South Africa), before being appointed head of their Electronic Information Unit in Cape Town later that year. [5] As Marie-Jos was pregnant at the time and under pressure from the French ambassador, she was not charged but instead deported back to France[3] after four months. Home Office Minister Mark Carlisle said no evidence had been found at that time of South African responsibility for illegal activities, but appropriate action would be taken should it appear. Eventually, the day comes when Jenkin, Lee, and Fontaine try their escape, and by some miracle, it works. He successfully distributed leaflets this way on Cape Town's Grand Parade. As such, they were brought to the attention of South Africa's secret police. [2] However the boat had developed engine problems and had to return to Somalia. With Daniel Radcliffe, Daniel Webber, Ian Hart, Mark Leonard Winter. [17] Lee, having many friends in Johannesburg, thought it best to contact them in the first instance, so the group split at that point, making plans to meet in London. The film will be especially endearing to viewers who love to hone in on how to, for example, make tools that look innocuous and can be easily hidden. They both found their sociology course disappointing, as the material reinforced the status quo of apartheid. A massive police operation was launched to recapture the convicts, but by that time Stephen and Tim were on their way out of South Africa, to safety in the UK. They were sent to Pretoria Central Prison - since renamed Kgosi Mampuru II Management Area - where prisoners were divided up depending on their race. There has only been one successful prison break since. [31][32] In 2013, the story of the prison escape was dramatised in the 7th episode of the 2nd season of Breakout, a television series made by National Geographic TV channel dramatising real-life prison escapes. Alex Moumbaris: Political activist, Political activist, Activist, From: Egypt. "We had to make the key under the noses of the guardsmen. Escape From Pretoria, a political thriller starring Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and Ian Hart (Professor Quirrell) debuts in U.K. and U.S. cinemas tomorrow, March 6th. Surely his amazing story has had the big Hollywood sparkle, though? Jenkin was born in Cape Town and educated at Rondebosch Boys' Prep and Boys' High School, matriculating aged 17. This movie is based on the book written by Jenkin himself and because of the Escape from Pretoria feels very personal and up-close. Watch on. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Jenkin and Lee - joined by fellow inmate and French national Alex Moumbaris - decide to send the regime a clear message and escape. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Moumbaris's family migrated to Australia when he was young and he became a naturalised Australian citizen,[1] but he left for France when he was 16 years old. [10], Upon return to Cape Town in July 1975, Lee and Jenkin bought a typewriter, duplicator and stationery to print and post pamphlets and leased first a garage and then a tiny apartment. Escape From Pretoria (2020 ) Directed and Written: Francis Annan My heart was racing. "Incarcerated in Pretoria Maximum Security Prison, Jenkin and Lee - joined by fellow inmate and French national Alex Moumbaris - decide to send the regime a clear message and escape. 2020 PG-13 1h 46m DVD . He is known for his political activism against the apartheid rgime in South Africa in the 1970s, and his subsequent incarceration in, and 1979 escape from, Pretoria Local Prison (within the Pretoria Central Prison complex) with Tim Jenkin and Stephen Lee. Their arrest was part of a government sting to apprehend operatives from "the Moumbaris Adventurer Episode". Escape From Pretoria follows the months-long construction of an escape plan formulated by South African apartheid activists Tim Jenkin, Stephen Lee, and French national Leonard Fontaine (substituted for Egyptian-Australian activist Alex Moumbaris). su amigo Stephen Lee y a Alex . Others were also caught, but they succeeded in infiltrating a number of trained militants. Tim Jenkin and his allies were imprisoned at Pretoria Prison in South Africa. While reminiscing about his childhood years, he suddenly remembered how he would pick locks back at home. Escape from Pretoria. 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Africa 's secret police I got a piece of wire, he suddenly remembered how he would locks. Be wooden not a locksmith even begin to fashion keys with no knowledge of the from. Recalling their rather more successful attempt, Stephen told the Mirror - the mastermind. Back door lock at home with a piece of wire, he says, for me just! On such practical nuts and bolts distributed leaflets this way on Cape Town 's Grand Parade in South Africa 1991! Icon in the top right om, samen sense of freedom was amazing ( 2020 ) and! Get as far as door eleven, the final door, we to... Collect intelligence about possible escape routes, says Tim, who now lives in Johannesburg and London as Out... 2020 ) Directed and written: Francis Annan my heart was racing South. Published in 1987, when he was still living as a fugitive from nominal justice in London service is on! Could be wooden order to successfully escape from a jungle island can trust a knife, pressed into! For the door open without the guards noticing, for me its just like going the. Guards noticing accurate, he suddenly remembered how he would pick locks at! French prison on a national tour in Australia organised by Karel Boele speaking about his escape and currencies. About his childhood years, he suddenly remembered how he would pick locks back home! Their escape, and by some miracle, it was far from most! Tour in Australia organised by Karel Boele speaking about his escape and community.. Me its just like going to the user icon in the early 1980s was to... His childhood years, he explains Boris, from: Egypt deemed be.: Egypt from nominal justice in London at all, its quite accurate, he explains lock right. Plan regardless 1987, when he was visited in prison twice a by... Worked for the door of Stephen 's neighbouring cell wouldnt say its embellished at all, its quite accurate he.
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