The United Arab Emirates has pardoned British academic Matthew Hedges, who was sentenced to life imprisonment last week, after being detained in the country on charges of spying.
The presidential pardon has been issued with immediate effect and Hedges will arrive in the UK shortly, according to reports.
Authorities in Dubai said they had responded to a letter from the UK Government and had given Hedges clemency, but said he had admitted spying on military systems.
At a press conference in Abu Dhabi, officials showed a video which they said proved he confessed to working for M16. The UAE said he had been looking into the purchase of military systems by the UAE.
Hedges, who lives in Exeter, is among 785 prisoners released as part of the UAE’s National Day anniversary.
His friends and family had maintained his innocence, saying he had been researching the country’s security strategy as part of his PhD at Durham University.
But UAE government spokesman Jabel Al Lamki said: "He was a part-time PdH researcher and part-time businessman, but he was 100% a secret service operative."
Mr Al Lamki added the request for clemency had been granted ‘in consideration of the historical relationship and close ties between the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom’.
Matthew Hedges’ case had caused concern that the important relationship between the UK and the UAE, which is significantly important business and leisure destination for Brits, could be severely damaged.
