UAE pardons Briton sentenced to life for spying

The United Arab Emirates on Monday pardoned British academic Matthew Hedges just days after sentencing him to life in prison for spying in a case that stunned Britain and his family.

The UK thanked its Gulf ally and Hedges's wife expressed her joy after he was among more than 700 prisoners pardoned by UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan for next month's National Day.

"Mr Hedges will be permitted to leave the UAE once formalities are completed," Jaber al-Lamki, a government media official, said in a statement.

The UAE showed footage at a news conference in the capital Abu Dhabi in which Hedges purportedly confessed to being an MI6 foreign intelligence agent.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt expressed gratitude to the oil-rich state, which London considers a strategic Middle East ally and supplies with British arms.

"Fantastic news about Matthew Hedges. Although we didn't agree with charges we are grateful to UAE govt for resolving issue speedily," Hunt said on Twitter.

Hedges's wife Daniela Tejada, who last saw him on the day he was sentenced, said in a statement: "The presidential pardon for Matt is the best news we could have received. Our six plus months of nightmare are finally over and to say we are elated is an understatement."
Lamki said that Hedges was "a 100-percent secret service agent and was convicted of espionage."