 |
| Matthew Hedges and wife Daniela Tejada |
British academic Matthew Hedges, who was sentenced to life in prison for spying in the United Arab Emirates, has been pardoned with immediate effect.
Hedges, 31, was sentenced on Thursday after a five-minute hearing. A family spokeswoman said Hedges was forced to sign a confession in Arabic, a language Hedges does not read nor speak.
Matthew Hedges is a specialist in Middle Eastern studies at the University of Durham. He was arrested on May 5 at Dubai airport, following a research trip. He went on to spend almost six months in solitary confinement.
Hedges was granted a presidential pardon following a request for clemency from his family, the United Arab Emirates government said in a statement. He is one of 785 prisoners being pardoned as part of the United Arab Emirates forthcoming national day celebration on December 2.
Matthew Hedges wife, Daniela Tejada, said in a statement that Hedges' pardon was "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," Tejada said.
"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."
In
statement United Arab Emirate Foreign Affairs Minister Anwar Gargash said that Hedges'
pardon will allow both sides "to return our focus to the underlying
fundamental strength of the United Arab Emirate UK bi-lateral relationship and its
importance to the international community."
CNN
0 comments:
Post a Comment