Matthew Hedges, the 31-year-old British academic jailed for life on spying charges by the United Arab Emirates, has been released hours after a presidential pardon by the country’s rulers.
His release follows intense lobbying by the British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, amid an international outcry that left the UAE scrambling to produce evidence to justify claims that Hedges was a spy.
At a press conference on Monday, the UAE continued to insist Hedges was an MI6 agent, and played video footage showing him apparently confessing that he had been trying to discover military secrets, including about the UAE’s weapons purchases.
The UAE said a “gracious clemency was granted on Sunday in response to a letter from the Hedges family bearing in mind the historic relationship between the UAE and the UK”.
Hedges’ wife, Daniela Tejada, welcomed the statement. “The presidential pardon for Matt is the best news we could have received. Our six-plus months of nightmare are finally over and to say we are elated is an understatement. That he is returning home to me and the rest of his family is much more than I was ever expecting to happen this week.
“Without the involvement of the media, the overwhelming support of academics, the public worldwide, the work of the British diplomatic body in the UAE and Secretary Hunt’s intervention, this would have never happened.”
Daniela Tejada@dtejadav The presidential pardon for Matt is the best news we could’ve received. Thank you friends, family, media, academics, and the wider public for your undivided support – I’ve been brought back to life. pic.twitter.com/vruok0ST6O 1,434 9:55 AM – Nov 26, 2018 Twitter Ads info and privacy
The presidential pardon for Matt is the best news we could’ve received. Thank you friends, family, media, academics, and the wider public for your undivided support – I’ve been brought back to life. pic.twitter.com/vruok0ST6O
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Hunt said news of Hedges’ pardon was “bittersweet” given that fellow Briton Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe remains detained in Iran, also accused of spying.
He tweeted: “Fantastic news about Matthew Hedges. Although we didn’t agree with charges we are grateful to UAE govt for resolving issue speedily. But also a bittersweet moment as we remember Nazanin & other innocent ppl detained in Iran. Justice won’t be truly done until they too are safely home.”
For more read The Guardian
