DRAMATIC ESCAPE

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 101, 26 October 1925, Page 3

DRAMATIC ESCAPE

FLIGHT FROM A MENTAL HOME

EGYPTIAN PBINCE'S CAPTIVITY.

ENDED,

Details of the dramatic .escape'of Prince Ahmed Seifeddin, brothcr-in-law of the King of Egypt, from al mental home in Ticehursfc, Sussex, have come to hand in' a recent mail from England. He had been detained for -nearly-twouty-fivo years as a' lunatic,' after undergoing a period of imprisonment for making a murderous attack on the then Prince- 1 Fuad,now King of Egypt. As the result,; however, of a simplo but cleverly arranged plot, he made his escapj whila' at. Hastings, on the South' Coast of England, under the care of two attendants. He succeeded in making his way to France, crossing on a Channel steamer, and tho circumstances of his flight lend credence to the theory that his disappearance was part of a well-laid political plot. - ' Prince Ahmed's confinement was tho sequel to an attack he . made, when in his teens, twenty-seven years ago, on his royal brother-in-law. His sister, he alleged 'at the time, complained of her treatment at. .Prince Fuad's hands. The two men,,-meeting at the door of a fashionable native club in Cairo, quarrelled violently, and Prince Ahmed shot Prince Fuad" in the neck. The wound was danger-; ous, and, though the Prince recovered, he has ever since suffered from- a nervous reaction of the muscles of tho neck. Prince Ahmed was arrested, charged with attempted murder, and sentenced to seven years' penal servitude. Tho term was afterwards reduced to four years, but before he had completed it he was certified to be insane, the result, it was believed, of his prison experiences, .and ho was removed to an asylum in Egypt. Subsequently, at the request of the Egyptian Council of Guardians, ho was taken to England and imprisoned at Ticehurst, where he had since remained. For some years past he had been allowed considerable liberty, visiting Hastings at frequent intervals, but always accompanied by at any rate one attendant. Prince Ahmed's mother, Princess Nevdijivani, appealed again and again to the British Government to 'release tier, son, but this was refused.

The story of the escape, or as much' of it as was known at the time of publication, is told by the 'Hastings correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph." He said that there appeared tobe ■"little doubt that the Prince Ahmed Seifeddin, whose mysterious disappearance from Hastings ia engaging the attention ;of ; Scotland Yard and the local police, is now in France. ' The. facts which': Ipoiht • to this conclusion, are that a niau of, Oriental type and answering to .the-de-scription of the Prince went to tho booking-office for cross-Channel steamers at Hastings pier and asked for two tickets to Boulogne; that a man believed to be the Prince was seen on board by tlie purser of the Devonia; and that one, of ,the two' attendants who "is missing-is known tO';liave ! visited.: Boulogne ■ * quite ■ recently. ' Other - 'known facts: of 'the Prince's movements' 'are' ,'thaf he.'.left Ticehurst in his own handsome limousine, with two attendants, and was driven to Hastings. The;party arrived about 11 o'clock, and the car was garaged. The two attendants' -then, went with the Prince to the band promenade, where they listened to'the music. After a' few minutes the Prince asked for some papers and books,,and one of the attendants was instructed to go to Hastings station and purchase what was required,'although there are a number of: shops from which the purchase might have been made only a felw steps from the pier. On returning to the pier after making the purchase, the attendant could find no trace either of his colleague or of the Prince. ■>■■■"

"About 11.30 a man of Oriental type, with a short beard, went to.the bookingoffice on the pier and asked for.;-.two tickets to Boulogne. The clerk told him that tickets were then being issued to Eastbourne only, and that,he must take his place at the end of the queue and book later,. The clerk does not remember seeing the man again', although another official is almost certain he saw the man actually in the iqueue. The clerk's attention was specially called to the man by the faot of certain regulations relating to tho issue of tickets to foreigners. "For years the Prince made a custom of coming to Hastings 1 every Monday. Invariably he occupied a particular box'a£ the afternoon performance at a local cinema, always with an lattendanfc. A second attendant is also; missingfrom the St. Leonard's branch home. It is known that very recently he went alone to Boulogne by steamer. "Detective-Inspector Milton, who is in charge of the inquiries locally, has had certain parts, of Hastings watched, and a careful scrutiny made of everyon.9 leaving the cross-Channel ■boats at Brighton. The identity cards which ar» given up by passengers on the steamer were examined, but they threw no;light on tho mystery. The police regard the affair as an extremely ingenious, though simple, plot, carried through. by friends of the Prince both at Ticehurst and at St. Leonards. The Prince had a palatial suite of rooms reserved for him and furnished handsomely. He was . allowed a maximum of liberty, but was. never allowed out without an attendant: For some reason not disclosed, a stronger guard had been placed around . the Prince recently. This was done as unobtrusively as possible, but the Princa quickly discerned it, and constantly exclaimed. 'Why this guard?'" The English police authorities were said to be satisfied at the time that the Prince was in France, but what' would have happened if they had found him is a nice: problem. They were saved any difficulty, however, by the fact' that he shortly proceeded, by ways of which the details have not yet been re« ported, to Turkey, where he joined his mother.