Durham PHD student sentenced to life in UAE spying debacle
Durham PHD student has been sentenced to life in prison for spying
Mathew Hedges, a 31-year-old Durham postgraduate student, was supposedly compiling data for his PhD on the security of the Arab Peninsula in the wake of the Arab Spring when he was arrested for spying.
Emeriti officials allege that Hedges was not an academic researcher, but was merely posing as one in order to obtain sensitive data.
His sentence will last 30 years. According to a statement from the federal court, translated from Arabic: "The Federal Appeals Court of Abu Dhabi sentenced Matthew Hedges, 31, to life imprisonment after being convicted of spying on the UAE and providing sensitive security and intelligence information to third parties.”
Case of Mathew Hedges extensively discussed with UK colleagues over last 5 months. Unusual & embarrassing revelations about friends & allies. With reluctance of UK authorities to address matter thru common channels,due legal process needs to take its course.
— د. أنور قرقاش (@AnwarGargash) October 12, 2018
Hedges had been arrested In June after a research trip to UAE







