UAE releases Briton Matthew Hedges after pardon

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has freed British scholar Matthew Hedges, who was sentenced to life in prison last week for spying.

Hedges, 31, was released on Monday after he received a presidential pardon, Aljazeera reported.

The scholar was among more than 700 people pardoned by the UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Monday, the country’s national day.

The scholar will be permitted to leave the UAE “once formalities are completed”, an official statement said, ahead of his release.

Daniela Tejada, Hedges’ wife, said on Twitter that the pardon was the “best news we could’ve received”.

She also told the BBC that she does not believe her husband is a spy.

“I can’t wait to have him back” and added: “In my heart, I know that he isn’t a spy.”

The UAE had come under increasing international pressure since Hedges, a doctoral student in Middle Eastern studies at Durham University in northern England, was handed a life sentence.

He was arrested at Dubai International Airport on May 5 after a two-week research visit.

The UAE signalled on Friday that it was working on an “amicable solution” to the issue after London described Hedges’ sentence as deeply disappointing.

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Emirati officials made a point on Monday to insist that the arrest came on solid ground, showing journalists in Abu Dhabi short video clips of Hedges purportedly acknowledging his intelligence work.

In one video clip, Hedges is seen describing himself as a captain in MI-6, during what appears to be a court hearing in the Gulf Arab country.

Another clip appears to show Hedges speaking to someone in an office and saying: “It helps the research to go in an easy way.”

Then, Hedges is seen snapping his fingers and adds: “Then it becomes MI-6.”

Emirati officials did not allow journalists to record the video.

“He was a part-time PhD researcher, a part-time businessman, but he was a 100 per cent full-time secret service operative,” said Jaber al-Lamki, an official with the UAE’s National Media Council.

“Mr Hedges has been found guilty of espionage. He sought out sensitive information he knew had access to it. He was here to steal the UAE’s sensitive national security secrets for his paymasters,” al-Lamki added.

The UK’s foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Twitter that the pardon was “fantastic news” and that the UK was “grateful” the issue was resolved.