A former UFC fighter imprisoned in Morocco for his part in the £53 million Securitas heist wants to ‘return to fitness’ and help others from challenging backgrounds in the UK.
Lee ‘Lightning’ Murray is ‘adamant’ that he can focus on ‘positive personal goals’ once he is released from his 25-year sentence over the 2006 robbery at the depot in Tonbridge, Kent.
His family is said to be ‘desperate’ for the dad’s return after he was convicted in a Moroccan court in 2010 for his part in the raid.
The mixed martial artist, also known as Lee Brahim Lamrani-Murray, is said to be looking forward to being ‘reunited with his children and building a normal relationship, without bars.’
His sentiments were released by a new campaign highlighting ‘human rights concerns’ over his imprisonment.
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Radha Stirling, a crisis manager supporting Murray’s family, is calling on the UK government to formally support a pardon request.
Stirling, the CEO of campaign groups Detained in Dubai and Due Process International, said: ‘Lee has served his time. He is hopeful that the British government will take action to help secure his release.
‘His wife and children are desperate to be reunited with him.
‘Lee remains positive and determined to rebuild his life and dedicate himself to helping others. His wife Nicola and his children have been separated from him for far too long.
‘They are doing everything they can to fight for his release and we are working with them to achieve that.
‘There is no sense in Lee spending another 10 years in prison.
‘This would never have happened in the UK and conditions in Morocco are arguably worse.
‘The UK should not have participated in a proxy prosecution where Lee had no real chance to defend himself or seek a more lenient sentence.
‘I hope British leaders will consider the severity of the punishment and show strong leadership by supporting their citizen’s pardon application.’
Murray, now 47, and close friend Paul Allen fled to Morocco four days after they took part in the audacious robbery.
He claimed Moroccan citizenship through his father in order to avoid extradition, giving him dual nationality.
But British detectives worked closely with the authorities in the North African country, which resulted in the Londoner being given a 10-year sentence. Murray’s stretch was later increased to 25 years after the original tariff was deemed too lenient.
He has endured ‘squalid, unhygienic conditions’, been kept in solitary confinement 23 hours a day and deprived of contact with his family, according to his supporters. The former cagefighter was last known to be in Tifelt prison in north-western Morocco.
The campaign groups have now added their weight to an existing plea by Murray’s daughter, Lilly Lamrani Murray, to grant her dad a royal pardon.
Lilly has said that he ‘is a good man that made bad choices and paid a huge price’ before mending his ways.
‘After two decades of prison, Lee is very much focused on the future,’ Stirling said. ‘He anticipates being reunited with his children and building a normal relationship with them, without bars.
‘Once released, Lee is adamant that he will focus on positive personal goals and helping others as much as he can.
‘He wants to return to fitness, open a training gym and help other people, especially those who have come from challenging backgrounds, to focus on competitive sports and make healthy choices.’
The Securitas heist remains the biggest cash robbery in UK history and has left behind many loose ends, despite seven people having been convicted over the kidnapping and robbery.
In May last year, Metro revealed how the inside man in the robbery has not paid back a penny of the money he owes from his role.
Ermir Hysenaj was given a confiscation order of £250,383 but his spoils remain unaccounted for, data showed.
At court following the raid, Murray was described as a ‘mastermind’ by the prosecution, as a picture emerged of a fast-living character who grew up in Plumstead before reaching the UFC.
He is thought to have been a fake police officer identified as ‘Stopwatch’ in CCTV footage as he and Allen abducted depot manager Colin Dixon, his wife and their child during the heist in February 2006.
In 2023, Murray denied being the gang’s ringleader in an interview for the ‘Catching Lightning’ documentary from behind bars, saying the robbery was not his idea and ‘was happening whether I was involved or not.’
The pair’s high-rolling lifestyle soon caught the attention of the Moroccan authorities and they were arrested four months later.
Allen has since been released from an 18-year UK sentence over the raid, and been left paralysed in a shooting at his luxury home, but Murray remains behind bars. He has previously said that he was a ‘wild man’ but is now a ‘totally different person’ who thinks of the future.
His supporters agree as they highlight a sentence which, if served in full, won’t see him released until 2035, after he turns 55.
A royal pardon from King Mohammed VI, which was granted to more than 1,500 prisoners in March, would provide an exit route.
Stirling told Metro: ‘Lee has now spent nearly two decades in a Moroccan prison, far longer than many convicted terrorists and murderers in the UK.
‘His continued detention raises serious questions about the UK’s role in what has effectively become a proxy prosecution.
‘Unable to try him themselves, British authorities encouraged Morocco to take over and even lobbied for a harsher sentence. This amounts to an outsourcing of justice that sets a dangerous precedent.
‘Imagine if countries like Saudi Arabia or the UAE began prosecuting British citizens for crimes committed elsewhere.
‘It opens the floodgates to abuse. We are calling for an inquest into the UK government’s involvement and whether a quid pro quo arrangement was made with Morocco. We are also urging the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) to formally support a pardon.’
FCDO guidance states that it ‘cannot usually help’ British nationals with dual nationality if they are in the country of their other nationality.
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