Matthew Hedges: Wife of British academic jailed for life on spying charges says UK is putting relations with UAE above his freedom

'I was under the impression they were putting their interests with the UAE above a British citizen's rightful freedom and his welfare', Daniela Tejada says

The wife of a British academic sentenced to life in prison in the United Arab Emirates on charges of spying has accused the UK government of putting relations with the Gulf state before of her husband.

Matthew Hedges, a 31-year-old PhD student in Middle Eastern Studies at Durham University, was arrested at Dubai Airport on 5 May after a two-week research visit and has been held in detention since.

His wife, Daniela Tejada, condemned the Foreign Office over the handling of the case ahead of a meeting with the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, on Thursday. After landing back at Heathrow Airport, she said the UK had "failed" to take a firm stance over Mr Hedges from the start of his ordeal.

"I was under the impression they were putting their interests with the UAE above a British citizen's rightful freedom and his welfare," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Mr Hunt has threatened the UAE with "serious diplomatic consequences" if Mr Hedges is not freed, and said he has seen "absolutely no evidence" to support the charge.

Following her meeting with Mr Hunt, Mr Tejada thanked the foreign minister for pursuing the case.

"[Mr Hunt] has assured me that he and his team are doing everything in their power to get Matt free and return him home to me. This is not a fight I can win alone and I thank the Foreign Office for now standing up for one of their citizens," she said in a statement.

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, defended the Foreign Office on the show for working "behind the scenes" to support Mr Hedges, with Mr Hunt appealing personally to the Crown Prince on 12 November.

Ms Tejeda said her husband was jailed after the UAE presented "completely fabricated" evidence.

Matthew Hedges with his wife Daniela Tejada (PA)

The UAE’s public prosecutor said the sentence was handed down ”after the accused confessed before the court to the charges brought against him”, but said Mr Hedges could appeal.

The prosecutor’s statement did not specify the charges, but his family and state-run UAE newspaper The National, citing a separate court statement, said Mr Hedges was convicted of spying.

The hearing lasted less than five minutes and Mr Hedges' lawyer was not present, his family said.

Theresa May said she was “deeply disappointed and concerned” Mr Hedges had been jailed, and told MPs the UK “will continue to press this matter at the highest level with the Emiratis”.

Mr Hunt said there would be serious diplomatic consequences, tweeting to say: "We have seen no evidence to back up charges against him ... UAE claim to be friend & ally of the UK so there will be serious diplomatic consequences. Unacceptable.

“Today’s verdict ... runs contrary to earlier assurances,” Mr Hunt added, calling the move extremely worrying.

Matthew Hedges, 31, was seized at Dubai airport as he attempted to leave the country following a two-week research trip for his PhD (PA)

The statement by the UAE’s attorney general, Hamad al-Shamsi, described the trial as “fair, transparent and just”.

The evidence against Mr Hedges consisted of notes from his dissertation research, his family said.

A life sentence for a non-Emirati entails a maximum of 25 years’ jail followed by deportation, according to The National.

Mr Hedges’ wife, Daniela Tejada, said: "Matthew is innocent. The Foreign Office know this and have made it clear to the UAE authorities that Matthew is not a spy for them.

“They say that the UAE is an ally, but the overwhelmingly arbitrary handling of Matt’s case indicates a scarily different reality, for which Matt and I are being made to pay a devastatingly high price.

“I am very scared for Matt. I don’t know where they are taking him or what will happen now. Our nightmare has gotten even worse.”

Mr Hedges’ university supervisor has said there had been nothing clandestine about his research in the country.

Professor Clive Jones of Durham University said Mr Hedges had been working on a thesis about civil-military relations in the UAE since the Arab Spring, based on readily accepted literature.

“There was nothing clandestine or covert in any of the material he had been using up to date in the thesis,” Prof Jones told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

“He went to the United Arab Emirates to conduct a series of interviews to help flesh out some of the theories and some of the empirical evidence that he had actually collected.”

He added: “If we had any inkling that Matt in any sense shape or form was going to be in danger, then of course we would not have agreed to let him go.

“Matt was no stranger to the United Arab Emirates. He had lived there on and off since the age of nine.

“He knew many of the people he was going out to interview so again it is utterly bizarre and indeed perverse and indeed a miscarriage of justice that this has befallen him.”

More than 120 academics from around the world have issued a petition urging UAE authorities to release Mr Hedges.

Additional reporting by agencies