We didn’t even get to say our goodbyes...
Wife’s despair after husband is jailed for life in UAE
THE distraught wife of British academic Matthew Hedges wept as she described how he trembled as he was jailed for life by the United Arab Emirates.
Daniela Tejada said she did not “even get to say goodbye” after the five-minute hearing.
Her husband, who had no lawyer, had been shaking when the translator told him his sentence for spying.
In disbelief, she said he “asked to double check if he had heard it right”. As she arrived back in Britain, Ms Tejada blasted the Government for not taking his arrest on May 5 seriously. She said: “I was under the impression they were putting their interests with the UAE above a British citizen’s rightful freedom and welfare.”
But after meeting Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt at the Foreign Office, she said: “I really appreciate the Foreign Secretary taking the time to meet me at this crucial point Jeremy Hunt in Matt’s life. He has assured me he and his team are doing everything in their power to get Matt free and return him home to me.
“This is not a fight I can win alone. I thank the Foreign Office and British public for now standing up for one of their citizens.”
The sentence has plunged Britain’s relations with the Gulf state into crisis. Mr Hunt is said to have exchanged “very frank” words with the UAE ambassador in London during a meeting yesterday.
He said the UK would “do everything we can to get him home”, and insisted there was “absolutely no evidence” of spying. Mr Hunt said: “If we can’t resolve this there will be serious diplomatic consequences.”
Middle Eastern studies specialist Mr Hedges, 31, a PhD student at Durham University, was arrested in Dubai after a two-week research visit.
Ms Tejada said her husband was “an innocent victim” and it was impossible to “imagine what he’s going through”.