Matthew Hedges and his wife Daniela Tejada
LONDON: Britain's relationship with the UAE will be hurt by a life sentence handed down to a British academic, foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said on Wednesday, adding that the verdict was not what London expected from an ally.
"Today's verdict is not what we expect from a friend and trusted partner of the United Kingdom and runs contrary to earlier assurances," Hunt said in a statement after Matthew Hedges, a 31-year-old doctoral student at Durham University, was sentenced. He was charged with spying.
"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."
A UAE court sentenced British student Matthew Hedges to life in jail on Wednesday after convicting him of spying, a family spokesperson said.
"We can confirm that he was sentenced to life in prison," the spokesperson told AFP.
"The hearing lasted less than five minutes, and his lawyer was not present."
Hedges, a 31-year-old PhD student, was researching the UAE's foreign and internal security policies after the Arab Spring revolutions of 2011 when he was detained at Dubai airport on May 5.
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