Plea to free student held on spy charges
MORE than 100 academics have signed a letter expressing their concern over the detention of a British student in the United Arab Emirates on charges of spying for the UK Government.
The 123 professors from institutions around the world call for the release of colleague Matthew Hedges, who was arrested while on a research trip for his doctorate at Durham University.
They say the charges against Mr Hedges, 31, put into question academic ties between the UK and the UAE.
“British scholars can no longer regard the Emirates as a safe place for legitimate academic research, despite the efforts of the UAE government to encourage educational exchanges between UK institutions and the UAE,” reads the letter, which is co-signed by Professor Clive Jones, Mr Hedges’ supervisor.
Mr Hedges, who is originally from Exeter, was on a 10-day trip to the Emirates as part of his research into the impact of the Arab Spring on the country’s foreign policy and security strategy.
He was on his way home when he was arrested at Dubai airport on May 5.
Mr Hedges was reportedly arrested after an Emirati reported him to the authorities for “asking sensitive questions about some sensitive departments” and “seeking to gather classified information on the UAE”.
Mr Hedges is due to appear in court tomorrow on charges of espionage, after being held for six months in solitary confinement.
Daniela Tejada, Mr Hedges’ wife, has protested her husband’s innocence, saying his visit was exclusively for academic research purposes.
She said her husband had been kept in solitary confinement since his arrest, forced to sleep on the floor for months and had suffered from anxiety and depression. She urged the British Government to state that he was innocent of the charges.
The arrest of a British academic by the United Arab Emirates, an ally of the UK, is unprecedented.