Matthew Hedges: Jailed British Academic Released by UAE | News from the world

Matthew Hedges, a 31-year-old British academic who was jailed for life by the United Arab Emirates for spying, was released hours after the presidential pardon of the country's leaders, local officials said. .

The move follows intense lobbying by British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt as the United Arab Emirates struggles to provide evidence to support the claim that Hedges was a spy.

At a press conference held on Monday, the UAE continued to insist that Hedges was an MI6 agent and broadcast a video footage showing him apparently confessing that he had tried to uncover military secrets, including their weapons purchases.

The United Arab Emirates said that a "generous thanksgiving was granted Sunday in response to a letter from the Hedges family recalling the historic relations between the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom".

A spokesman for the UAE's national media council said several hours after Hedges' pardon had been confirmed, he had been released.

Hedges' wife, Daniela Tejada, welcomed forgiveness. "The presidential pardon given to Matt is the best news we could have received. Our six-month-long nightmare is finally over and saying that we are delighted is a euphemism. The fact that he is going home and the rest of his family is much more than what I expected this week.

"Without the participation of the media, the overwhelming support of academics, the general public, the work of the British diplomatic corps in the United Arab Emirates and the intervention of Secretary Hunt, this would never have happened."

Hunt said the news of Hedges' forgiveness was "bittersweet" given that his fellow British Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is still being held in Iran, also accused of spying.

He tweeted: "Fantastic news about Matthew Hedges. While we do not agree with the charges, we are grateful to the UAE government for resolving the problem quickly. But also a bittersweet moment as we remember Nazanin and other innocent people detained in Iran. Justice will not really be done until they return home safely.

Professor Stuart Corbridge, Vice Chancellor of Durham University, said, "We are absolutely delighted to hear of Matt's imminent release. It is essential that he be allowed to return home to Daniela and his family as quickly and safely as possible. "

Clemency was granted on Sunday by United Arab Emirates President Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, and was one of 800 pardons granted by the Gulf State.

The short video clips shown by the UAE provided no context, but showed that Hedges was discussing the MI6's operation in the UAE and apparently confessed to holding the captain's rank at MI6, a position that does not exist. The clips are not shared by the UAE for wider distribution.

They also claimed to show the Hedges that they admitted to having researched military systems that the UAE was buying.

The main purpose of the press conference was to defend the UAE's judicial system and to justify the claims that Hedges was a spy, allowing the UAE to defend its international reputation.

Emirati leaders were unhappy with attacks on his reputation, led by Tejada and backed by Hunt, who said he was shocked by the fact that Hedges was sentenced to five minutes in prison last week. The UAE claims that the brief hearing was simply an official announcement of the sentence and was not part of the trial itself.

The press conference began with a spokesman detailing the charges against Hedges, the seriousness of the case and the belief that the United Arab Emirates were right to have him charged.

He said Hedges "searched for information about the ruling families and their networks" and wanted to "gather classified information on the military and political role of the UAE in Yemen".

He said that these threats would be considered a serious threat to the national security of any country and that the information gathered went well beyond normal academic practice.

"In fact, Dr. Hedges has taken advantage of the openness given to university researchers in this country. We are a country that hosts branches of some of the best academic institutes in the world and we are proud of our contribution to scientific progress and academic activities. "

The investigation revealed that Mr. Hedges had used two different identities to gather information about his "targets": a PhD researcher and a businessman.

"He was a part-time doctoral researcher, a part-time businessman, but he was a 100% full-time secret service agent.

"Hedges was convicted of espionage. He searched for sensitive information. He knew that there was access. He was here to steal sensitive national security secrets for his payers. "

As the UAE is a close trading partner of the United Kingdom and its main political ally in the Gulf, the case was likely to cause a major gap between the two countries.

United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash said: "The UAE still hoped that this issue would be resolved through the common channels of our longstanding partnership. It was a simple question that was becoming unnecessarily complex despite the best efforts of the UAE. "

He added that the case against Hedges was based on evidence from his electronic devices, on monitoring and intelligence gathering by UAE agencies and on evidence provided by Hedges himself, "including a corroborated narrative recruitment and training of assets and confidential information, its recruitment and progress in a foreign intelligence service have been authenticated by the United Arab Emirates intelligence agencies. "

The release of Hedges was announced before the National Day of the United Arab Emirates, when prisoners traditionally get a pardon.

Reacting to the news of Hedges' release, academics and their representatives said universities need to review how they operate in the Gulf countries.

Matt Waddup, Head of Policy and Campaigns at the University and College Union, said: "UK universities operating abroad should launch journals covering human rights, union representation, academic freedom and ensuring that local workers employed by the institution are not exploited. It is essential that profits from overseas operations are not realized by diluting the rights of staff and students, as well as the safety of individuals. "

David Wearing, a researcher in international relations at Royal Holloway University, said: "It is clear that legitimate intellectual activity is impossible in the UAE, and it is not ethically acceptable for UK universities to accept this blithely. They should demand guarantees of academic freedom equivalent to that enjoyed by the United Kingdom or to withdraw.

"What I hope, however, is that business leaders will be sighing with relief at the thought that this PR problem has gone away and return to their usual activities. . "

Marc Owen Jones, assistant professor of studies on the Middle East at Hamad bin Khalifa University in Qatar, said: "The problem is not really that Matthew was sentenced to the life imprisonment, but that he got to the point where he had already spent months in terrible conditions. before public pressure helped to free him.

"There is no guarantee that other academics will not benefit from the same treatment. So what guarantees can universities really have for academic freedom to be respected, especially given the context of the UAE as a close ally of the UK? "