In April 2018, Hedges travelled to the United Arab Emirates as part of a research trip for his PhD. He was conducting interviews for his thesis. At the end of his two-week visit, Hedges was arrested at Dubai International Airport on suspicion of spying on behalf of the British government. He was held for almost six months, mostly in solitary confinement. According to his wife, in the first month of being detained, Hedges slept on the floor and had no access to a shower. The Emirates News Agency said that Hedges had access to medical care and that his detainment was compliant with Emirati law. According to Tejada, Hedges suffered from panic attacks while in jail. Hedges was only able to speak to his wife once a week. In October 2018, a local report said that a foreign national, believed to be Hedges, had been accused of "seeking confidential information about the UAE", and said that the suspect had confessed to the charges. In the same month, Hedges was released on bail prior to the trial. In November 2018, Abu Dhabi court sentenced Hedges to life imprisonment in the UAE on charges of spying and providing confidential information to outside sources. According to The National newspaper, a life sentence in the UAE consists of a maximum of 25 years in jail, followed by deportation for non-Emiratis. In accordance with Emirati law, Hedges was given 30 days to appeal the court ruling. According to Sulaiman Hamid al-Mazroui, the UAE ambassador to the United Kingdom, Hedges' family pleaded for a pardon.
Reactions
called the verdict "disappointing". British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jeremy Hunt criticised the verdict, claiming that it had been done in a five-minute hearing, an allegation denied by Sulaiman Hamid al-Mazroui. Non-governmental organisation Human Rights Watch said that the trial "was marred with such due process violations that there’s no way it could have been seen as a fair trial". Alex Younger, the head of MI6, said that he "couldn't understand how our Emirati partners came to the conclusions they came to." After the verdict, the University of Birmingham voted to boycott its new campus in Dubai, in protest of the decision. Staff at Exeter University, where Hedges was previously an undergraduate, passed a motion calling for the suspension of its academic relationships with the UAE. Tejada set up an online petition which attracted over 200,000 signatures.
Pardon and release
On 26 November 2018, Hedges was pardoned by UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as part of the UAE tradition of pardoning people on the country's National Day. After his release, Hedges went to the British embassy in Abu Dhabi, from where he later travelled back to the United Kingdom. He arrived at Heathrow Airport on the morning of Tuesday, 27 November 2018, where he was reunited with his wife, whom he praised for having tirelessly campaigned for his release. In December 2018, Hedges said that he was speaking to a specialist psychiatrist about the effects of his imprisonment.
Complaint against Foreign Office
In May 2019 Hedges' lawyer lodged a complaint against the Foreign and Commonwealth Office alleging it failed in its duty of care to negotiate Hedges' release. Hedges and his wife are also requesting an independent inquiry.
Publications
Hedges, M.J. & Cafiero, G.. "The GCC and the Muslim Brotherhood: What Does the Future Hold?" Middle East Policy 24: 129–153.
