The jail sentence handed to British academic Matthew Hedges is ‘not final’, according to the UAE Attorney General Dr Hamad Al Shamsi, who said the 31-year old PhD student who was accused of spying is still entitled to appeal.
Hedges, who specialises in Middle Eastern studies at Durham University in the UK, was arrested in Dubai International Airport in May.
The Federal Court of Appeal accused him of “spying on the UAE and providing sensitive security and intelligence information to third parties,” and on Wednesday sentenced him to a maximum of 25 years followed by deportation.
In a statement on news agency WAM, Dr Al Shamsi, however, said the defendant is guaranteed his right to appeal the verdict, according to UAE law.
“Today’s sentence is not final. The accused has the right to appeal ahead of the Federal Supreme Court. This is one of the most important guarantees of the UAE’s justice courts’ and is according to the UAE’s doctrine,” he said in the statement.
The court said Hedges has the right to challenge the ruling with the State Security Department of the Federal Supreme Court within a maximum period of 30 days.
Hedges, whose family used to reside in Dubai, has repeatedly denied the charges, though Dr Al Shamsi said he had admitted to claims against him during questioning.
The academic’s wife Daniele Tejada said her husband was “fascinated by Emirati security and threw himself into his research”, which focused on relationships between different tribes in the UAE.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament she was “deeply disappointed and concerned” at the verdict and would raise the case at the highest levels of the UAE government.
Dr Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said the case has been “extensively discussed with UK colleagues.”
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