UK student charged with spying in UAE released on bail
LONDON: A British student charged with spying in the United Arab Emirates has been released pending his next court hearing in the Gulf country, his wife said yesterday.
Matthew Hedges, a 31-year-old PhD student, was researching the UAE’s foreign and internal security policies after the 2011 Arab Spring revolutions when he was detained at Dubai airport on May 5.
“Matthew Hedges has been temporarily released, with constant monitoring, from the location he was being held, until November 21st, 2018, for his next court hearing,” his wife Daniela Tejada said in a statement.
“I of course welcome this development. However, I cannot allow myself to get too excited by this information as Matt is not fully free yet.”
She added: “Above everything, I hope that justice will be done and Matt is granted his rightful freedom, something that he’s been unjustly denied in the last six months.
“My main concern is his safety and I’d like to request the (British) and UAE authorities to ensure that he’s protected during this time.”
She had previously said he was being held in solitary confinement at an undisclosed location with limited access to the British consulate and his family.
Tejada has told AFP her husband was innocent.
UAE Attorney-General Hamad al-Shamsi said earlier this month that Hedges was accused of “spying for a foreign country, jeopardising the military, political and economic security of the state”.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office in London said on Tuesday: “We are monitoring developments closely and have made the Emirati authorities aware of all our concerns.