Andrew Malkinson, who spent 17 years in jail for a rape he did not commit, has left the United Kingdom for Holland, promising to relocate permanently to the northwestern European nation.
In 2003, Malkinson, now 57, was wrongfully found guilty of raping a woman in Manchester.
A year later, he was jailed for life with a minimum term of seven years, although he continued to maintain his innocence.
He ended up spending 17 years in prison until a Court of Appeal exonerated him earlier this week after DNA evidence linking another man to the crime came to light.
After release from prison, Malkinson said he is considering getting a Dutch passport as England “doesn’t feel like home after what I’ve been through”.
In a chat with Daily Mirror after regaining his freedom, Malkinson said, “It’s been a long time coming but this is the first day of the rest of my life.
“I was born here but I don’t identify with it and it doesn’t feel like home after what I’ve been through.
“I feel more Dutch than English and I’d like the Foreign Office to negotiate a Dutch passport. I don’t think it’s a big ask on humanitarian grounds.”
Malkinson’s mother Tricia, 76, said he has been “damaged” by injustice, and urged the public not to forget him as he will still need to find fairness and his place in society.
“This is not about the money, it’s about the fact he’s lost 20 years of his life.
“He’s an intelligent man and this has been a waste of his life — I wonder what he could have achieved if this hadn’t happened. This is only the beginning,” she told The Times.