Now Briton arrested in Gulf faces spying trial
A BRITISH academic faces up to ten years in jail after being charged with spying.
Officials in the United Arab Emirates say Matthew Hedges has admitted to being a secret agent for a foreign state.
The 31-year-old was arrested at Dubai airport in May on his way home from a fortnight researching his doctoral thesis on the Gulf state’s security policies.
UAE attorney general Hamed Saif al-Shamsi accused Mr Hedges of visiting ‘under the cover of an academic researcher’. He claimed the Durham University student had made ‘confessions’ during his five months in detention that matched information on his electronic devices.
But Mr Hedges’s Colombianborn wife, Daniela Tejada, insisted he was innocent.
She added: ‘My husband has not received appropriate medical care and attention, especially in regard to his mental health. Matt has been kept in solitary for over five months.
‘Since he was detained on May 5, he has only ever been granted two consular visits which is in direct violation of his rights. He is kind and caring and greatly loved and respected. Please send him home. I just want him back.’ The couple met eight years ago when they studied together at Exeter University. They now live in the city.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has twice raised the case with his Emirati counterpart and said he was very worried about Mr Hedges.
Dr al-Shamsi has promised a fair and transparent trial.