Wife in anxious wait as academic jailed for spying is pardoned
The 31-year-old, originally from Exeter, was arrested at Dubai Airport as he tried to leave the country on May 5.
Ms Tejada said the pardon brought her family’s “nightmare” to an end, and Mr Hunt described it as “fantastic”.
But at a news conference yesterday in Abu Dhabi, officials showed a video of Mr Hedges describing himself as a captain in MI6 during what appeared to be a court hearing.
An official said Mr Hedges had been on a mission in the country “to steal the UAE’s sensitive security national secrets for his paymasters”.
The Briton’s pardon by president Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan came in response to a letter from his family appealing for clemency and due to the historical close ties between the UK and Gulf state, the official added.
“His Highness has decided to include Mr Matthew Hedges among the 785 prisoners released. Mr Hedges will be permitted to leave the country once all the formalities are complete.”
Jaber Al Lamki, a UAE official, confirmed Mr Hedges’ release a short time later but a spokesman for Ms Tejada insisted: “He has not been released.”
In a statement, Ms Tejada, originally from Bogota in Colombia, said: “The presidential pardon for Matt is the best news we could have received.
“Our six-plus months of nightmare are finally over and to say we are elated is an understatement.
“That he is returning home to me and the rest of his family is much more than I was ever expecting to happen this week.”
She thanked media coverage, support from British diplomats, Mr Hunt, academics and members of the public across the world for helping her husband’s cause.
But she continued to reject the spying accusation, insisting: “In my heart I know that he isn’t.”
Mr Hunt said the UAE had made a “very important gesture” but described it as a “bittersweet moment” while Nazanin ZaghariRatcliffe remains detained in Iran.
The 39-year-old British-Iranian charity worker and mother of one was handed a five-year jail sentence in 2016 over spying charges.
He said: “In a way it’s a bittersweet moment as in Iran, another country in the region, we have Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, an innocent woman who has been in prison for nearly three years now.”
Professor Stuart Corbridge, vice-chancellor of Durham University, said last night: “We are absolutely delighted to learn the news of Matt’s impending release.”