British academic jailed for life in United Arab Emirates on spying charges

Matthew Hedges with his wife Daniela Tejada. Hedges has been given a life sentence in the United Arab Emirates. Photo / AP

The British government warned Wednesday of "repercussions" after a British academic was sentenced to life in prison in the United Arab Emirates, which accused him of spying for Britain.

Matthew Hedges, a 31-year-old student at Durham University, was given the life sentence during a short court hearing in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, according to his family.

Hedges was arrested on May 5 at the Dubai International Airport following a two-week trip to the country, where he was researching Emirati security and foreign policy for his doctorial thesis. Last month, he was charged with espionage.

"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.

Hedges's wife, Daniela Tejada, said Wednesday that she watched her husband shake as the judge delivered the life 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." British consular officials were believed to have monitored Wednesday's five-minute court session.

Hedges was unexpectedly released on parole last month after his health deteriorated during four months in solitary confinement. The academic's family said that he had been vomiting daily, after prison authorities supplied him with a cocktail of antidepressants, anti-anxiety medicine and sleeping pills.

British Prime Minister Theresa May told Parliament on Wednesday that she was "deeply disappointed and concerned at today's verdict" and would raise the case with UAE authorities "at the highest level."

In a statement on its website, Durham University said Hedges began his PhD work in 2013 and that his thesis was nearing completion. "His academic colleagues speak highly of his work, noting both his diligence and level of scholarship, as well as his undoubted passion and care for the Arab Gulf and its people," the university said.

Karen Young, a Middle East scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, tweeted that the sentence could have an chilling effect on the academic community.

"This sentence is very harsh, will have chilling effect on research community, dialogue and people-to-people ties," she wrote. "Gulf scholarship relies on networks and trust. After Qatar crisis, this further limits (and politicises) much-needed academic collaboration, knowledge economy."