UAE pardons 785 prisoners, including British spy, on occasion of 47th National Day

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Mon, 26 Nov 2018 - 10:08 GMT

BY

Mon, 26 Nov 2018 - 10:08 GMT

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan

United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan

ABU DHABI, Nov 26 (MENA) - UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has ordered the release of 785 prisoners including British student Matthew Hedges who was convicted of spying charges, on the occasion of the 47th National Day of the country, according to UAE Presidential Affairs Ministry statement.

The release of prisoners, and the settlement of their debts and fines, reflects the President’s keenness to grant them another chance for a new life and to relieve their families' hardships, the statement added.

The British man convicted of spying on the United Arab Emirates for a foreign government has been pardoned with immediate effect.

Matthew Hedges will be released and allowed to return home, it was announced on Monday.

The 31-year-old was last week sentenced to life in prison after a trial at the country's highest federal court.

His pardon by UAE President Sheikh Khalifa, was announced at a press conference in Abu Dhabi at midday.

New details were also released for the first time including a video of his interview with investigators.

The footage showed Hedges admitting to being an "active officer" for MI6 - Britain's foreign intelligence service.

Jaber Al Lamki, an official from the country's National Media Council, read out a statement that detailed how Hedges worked for a private intelligence company and that that work led to his recruitment by MI6.

He also said Hedges was tasked with finding out how senior Emiratis on government-linked companies rated various security threats.

A statement read: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation can confirm that following the court’s verdict, and sentencing, the family of Mr Hedges has appealed for clemency in a personal letter to President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The letter was conveyed by British consular staff to UAE authorities.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said: "His Highness the President’s gracious clemency in the customary National Day pardons allows us to return our focus to the underlying fundamental strength of the UAE/UK bi-lateral relationship and its importance to the international community. It was always a UAE hope that this matter would be resolved through the common channels of our longstanding partnership. This was a straightforward matter that became unnecessarily complex despite the UAE’s best efforts."

On Thursday, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Head of the Department of Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, said that the evidence presented in court against Hedges was "powerful and compelling".

Hedges, a student at Durham University in the UK, was convicted by the Federal Court of Appeal on Wednesday for attempting to procure sensitive information during a trip to the UAE this year.

The case became a political issue in the UK, with Prime Minister Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt, the UK Foreign Secretary, making Hedges' situation a matter for diplomatic relations.

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