Matthew Hedges, the British academic who was convicted to life term for spying in the UAE, arrived back in London, UK, Tuesday, Oct. 17.
He arrived at the Heathrow airport a day after he received pardon from President his Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan ahead of the National Day.
The clemency was announced by the the Ministry of Presidential Affairs following a personal letter sent by his family to the UAE President.
In a statement, Hedges said: “I don’t know where to begin with thanking people for securing my release. Thank you so much to the British Embassy and the FCO (Britain’s foreign ministry) for their efforts in ensuring I arrived safely back home.”
The former expat in the UAE thanked his wife for staying strong in the past seven months of his absence.
“She is so brave and strong, seeing her and my family after this ordeal is the best thing that could have happened. I thank you all once again, this is very surreal,” he said.
On Monday, the Ministry of Presidential Affairs announced that a Presidential Pardon has been issued by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa to Hedges who was originally sentenced to life term.
UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. 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.”
The UAE president issued the pardon as part of a mass clemency of more than 700 prisoners to mark the country’s National Day.
