On the third occasion a sea-landing of 19 MK fully-armed members was to occur, Moumbaris was the commander of the receiving group. A third prisoner, Alex Moumbaris, was brought in to be part of the escape. He tells how Tim had been given a 12-year sentence and he had got eight years inside. This movie is based on the book written by Jenkin himself and because of the Escape from Pretoria feels very personal and up-close. Escape from Pretoria at IMDb "20 Films That Starred 3 Or More Harry Potter Actors". Then, one day he was working in a carpentry workshop and it struck him that the key could be wooden. Eventually, the day comes when Jenkin, Lee, and Fontaine try their escape, and by some miracle, it works. Actor: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. [2], He and Jenkin carried out a first trial run of the escape plan, and were involved in a couple of scrapes which nearly led to discovery in the lead-up to the escape. Escape from Pretoria airs on Saturday, 4 July, at 20:00 on TNT (DStv 137) We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred. Stephen and Tim had to open 11 doors in total, some right next to the guards' office. The first to get out of the toughest jail in South Africa, Stephen and Tim earned renown with a borderline genius hack. That last scene is about as accurate as you can make it, Jenkin says of the very real moment the escapees werent able to open the ninth and final door to freedom. He had been waiting for this sound for several hours every night for two months. It's not intended as a compliment: "The most deluded of them all," the warden adds, lest it be taken as such. why is alex moumbaris not in escape from pretoria. 2020 PG-13 1h 46m DVD Rent this movie Play trailer. They were determined to fight the countys unjust apartheid regime which had enforced racial segregation since 1948. There has only been one successful prison break since. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. How? Door three fortunately worked with the same key as the inner cell door. They caught us with printing equipment. [20] After a spell in the notorious John Vorster Square in Johannesburg, they were returned to Cape Town and after four weeks, allowed to see family, and held at Pollsmoor Prison as they awaited trial. [2] However the boat had developed engine problems and had to return to Somalia. For other inquiries, Contact Us. [14] He afterwards said the prison was "luxury" compared to French prison. [7] Goldberg distracted the warden while the three made their escape. 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. 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. 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). But when it comes to watching him break out of prison all over again, though, there is no stirring feeling, no rush of emotions that come back to Jenkin. [8] He and Lee went on a speaking tour in Sweden in the early 1980s. . He adds: I have probably different emotions as people. It was a victory over the system., Escape From Pretoria is released in UK cinemas on Friday, March 6, News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. [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. 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. skuggans caf lngtora. The sense of freedom was amazing. Jenkins book of the same title was published in 1987, when he was still living as a fugitive from nominal justice in London. On 11 December 1979 the three escapees managed to execute their master plan, against all odds, and found themselves outside the prison, in civilian clothes. It's not intended as a . 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. 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. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. They became friends and, in a South African version of Samizdat, Jenkins and Lee sought out literature banned by the ruling National Party. Jenkin, Lee, and fellow prisoner Alex Moumbaris were also involved in the escape. It was dangerous, they did have regular inspections. We got through the nine doors and then at the final door, we found we couldnt open the lock. He continued: [It was] the only thing we managed to keep; we got rid of the all the keys immediately, but for some reason we kept thatprobably as a weapon. Lee moved back to Cape Town in December after enrolling in a master's degree in sociology, and the two continued their undercover work, but unbeknownst to them they were by this time under surveillance by the Security Branch of the South African Police. It took them a year to get as far as door eleven, the final one. Adapted from Jenkins memoir of his time served and resourcefully cut short as a South African political prisoner in the countrys darkest days of white supremacy, Francis Annans film works effectively as a straight-up jailbreak thriller, well-oiled in greasy B-movie tradition. During this time they learnt of the activities of the African National Congress (ANC), which was an illegal organisation in South Africa. Continue without accepting. As Stephen explained in a previous interview with The Daily Mail, he came up with the solution to end all of their woes during a lonely, quiet night in his prison cell. It was a little noise that promised a big prize freedom. For three years they set off harmless leaflet bombs - explosive devices at the bottom of a shopping bag that could distribute 500 propaganda pamphlets in one 'bang' - spreading word of the liberation movement in public places. We has skype chats, he wanted to learn about the character and the accent, Jenkin, now-71, explained of the study Radcliffe did to ace his portrayal. [13], Marie-Jos was repeatedly denied a visitor's visa to visit him in prison, and in February 1978 Moumbaris went on a hunger strike to try to force the authorities to let her in, but after 10 days realised the futility of this and gave up. [6], At the end of 1970 Jenkin enrolled at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science degree at the end of 1973. 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. In February 1974, Jenkin and Lee left the country in order to join the ANC in London, with the intention of helping to bring about change in South Africa. Starring Daniel Radcliffe as a jailed anti-apartheid activist, this true-life prison-break thriller is stronger on genre mechanics than political nuance. [2] Goldberg and the others decided to withdraw from the escape, with Goldberg continuing to be involved in the preparations. 2020 PG-13 1h 46m DVD . [2] In June 2018, he was received by South African ambassador Rapu Molekane at the embassy in Paris. However, escaping - something no inmate had successfully done before - was going to be no easy task. The inmate took a piece of paper, stuffed it into the lock using a knife and measured the depth. Believe it or not, the chisel they used in the film [to beat down the door], was the actual chisel we used on the front door.. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Daniel Radcliffe stars as inmate Tim Jenkin in new film 'Escape To Pretoria' about the famous South African prison break in 1979, The film is set during the during the Apartheid era in Capetown, South Africa, The Pretoria Central Prison divided up prisoners depending on their race, Its gallows, which are left untouched today, could end the lives of seven at once, Sitting on his bed in his jail cell, Tim realised he could fashion a key to unlock the door, Tim was sentenced to 12 years behind bars for supporting Nelson Mandela's ANC, His friend Stephen Lee received eight years for his political "terrorism" fighting apartheid, Once Tim had cracked the third door, inmate Alexis Moumbaris, pictured, joined the escape effort, After leaving South Africa via Tanzania, the pair - now in their 70s - settled in the UK, New Amazon Prime documentary explores the case of Oscar Pistorius who was convicted of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013, Inside audacious Escape From Pretoria where prisoners fled hellhole jail by carving wooden keys for ELEVEN metal doors, Kate and Rio Ferdinand had 'heated' rows over her pregnancy that ended in tears as she thought he 'didn't care', Ed Sheeran reveals wife Cherry 'had a tumour' that could only be treated after birth of 2nd baby as he announces album, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). I just couldnt believe it., Stephen remembers the exact moment he had heard the lock click. . [2] In 1995, Jenkin wrote a 6-part article series called Talking to Vula: The Story of the Secret Underground Communications Network of Operation Vula. Escape from Pretoria makes an ideal everyman out of Daniel Radcliffe The actor plays Tim Jenkin, a real-life political prisoner during apartheid-era South Africa, who made a daring escape in 1979 Each night after lights went out, the trio sneaked out of their cells - once Tim had used the first key to unlock them all - to try and get through an extra door. He was also influenced by the Vietnam War and the Greek coup of the colonels in 1967. While awaiting clearance for membership, Jenkin worked as a social worker at a reform school in Swindon. 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This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Given the limited backstory filled in by Annan and L.H. Moumbaris grew cynical about these claims but continued to see him as it was another visit from an outsider, and he could ask him questions about France. [2] He started associating with African National Congress (ANC) exiles and beginning in 1967, he travelled in and out of South Africa transporting literature for the movement. 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. Boom, the door just slid open, absolutely smoothly, he says. [6], In June 1973, Moumbaris was sentenced to 12 years in prison for conspiring with the ANC to "instigate violent revolution in South Africa', aiding guerrillas to enter the country, distributing ANC literature and reconnoitering the coast to find places for the sea-borne landing of guerrillas and arms. [12], Moumbaris, although enrolled in university courses, did not undertake formal studies at all while in prison; it was a cover so extra books could be obtained from the university library for everyone to make use of; it was a way of keeping themselves informed about the world. After leaving . lindbacken fastigheter [23], In December 1979,[7] Jenkin, Lee and fellow inmate Alex Moumbaris[24][17] broke out of Pretoria Central Prison using handmade keys to ten of the doors leading out of the prison, after several hair-raising moments when encountering unforeseen obstacles. 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. It took until the next day for guards to realise they were missing, and a huge police operation to recapture them was launched. For 14 free days, you can have access to a world of in-depth analyses, investigative journalism, top opinions and a range of features. Alexandre Moumbaris is a political activist and former political prisoner. I knew it was curtains for us. [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. After his brainwave about fashioning a lock for his cell door while lying on his bunk bed, Tim felt confident the plan would work. Denis Goldberg first joined in with the intention of fleeing as well, but he eventually withdrew and stayed on as an advisor. He also once unfurled an ANC banner from a building in Durban,[5] and was subsequently entrusted with more risky assignments. As such, they were brought to the attention of South Africa's secret police. Tim Jenkin and his allies were imprisoned at Pretoria Prison in South Africa. Moubaris went to the USSR for training. Through reading material banned by the government, they came to see the "naked reality" of apartheid and the undemocratic behavior of the ruling party, and felt a burning desire to effect positive change, which, Jenkin concluded, was only possible using unconstitutional means under the current regime. 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. 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