British academic jailed for life in UAE
Researcher was arrested on charges of spying in Dubai
LONDON — The British government warned Wednesday of “repercussions” after the United Arab Emirates sentenced a British academic to life in prison on accusations of spying.
Matthew Hedges, a 31-year-old student at Durham University in northern England, was arrested May 5 at the Dubai International Airport following a two-week trip to the country. His university and his family say he was researching Emirati security and foreign policy for his PhD thesis.
Last month, UAE authorities charged Hedges with espionage. The academic was made to sign a document in Arabic, although he doesn’t speak Arabic, that was used as a confession statement.
A judge handed down the sentence during a five-minute court session Wednesday in Abu Dhabi.
“Today’s verdict is not what we expect from a friend and trusted partner of the United Kingdom and runs contrary to earlier assurances,” British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said in a statement. He said he raised the case with UAE authorities during a trip to Abu Dhabi last week.
“I have repeatedly made clear that the handling of this case by the UAE authorities will have repercussions for the relationship between our two countries, which has to be built on trust. I regret the fact that we have reached this position and I urge the UAE to reconsider,” he said.
The UAE is Britain’s fourth largest export market outside the European Union, and British officials have been working to strengthen those ties as their country prepares to leave the EU in March and negotiate new bilateral trade deals.
Hedges’ wife, Daniela Tejada, said Wednesday that she watched her husband shake as he received the sentence. “I am in complete shock and I don’t know what to do. Matthew is innocent,” she said in a statement. “The Foreign Office know this and have made it clear to the UAE authorities that Matthew is not a spy for them. This whole case has been handled appallingly from the very beginning with no one taking Matthew’s case seriously.”