UPDATE 11/26 — Today, Matthew was released and ‘pardoned’ though apparently still labelled a high level spy. Leaving the original post here for posterity.
Matthew Hedges, a doctoral student at Durham University in the UK must have been happy to secure funding for a field trip to UAE to conduct interviews for his dissertation on civil-military issues in the context of the Arab Spring. This is how significant research data is gathered, it takes time, effort and no little disruption to one’s normal life. Imagine then his horror when, at the airport to return to the UK, he is arrested and thrown in jail. Allegedly, an informer reported that he asked suspicious questions and the suspicion was enough to flout all rules of legal and civic propriety. He was arrested in May this year. He’s been in jail since, in solitary confinement, accused of espionage.
You might think this is punishment enough, but the horror is really only getting started. This week, in a five minute court ‘trial’ where he had no legal representation, Matthew Hedges was sentenced to life imprisonment. Do you really need to know more? Read the response from the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies and write a letter/email to the addresses provided. You can read a Guardian article too. This is no time for shyness — speak up.
