British academic sentenced to life in prison for spying in the UAE

The British government has warned the United Arab Emirates of repercussions over the sentencing.

The British academic accused of spying in the UAE was sentenced to life imprisonment in a five-minute hearing at an Abu Dhabi court. Source: Press Association

A United Arab Emirates court sentenced British student Matthew Hedges to life in jail on spying charges on Wednesday, prompting a "shocked" Britain to warn of repercussions for relations with its longstanding Gulf ally.

Hedges, a 31-year-old PhD student, had protested his innocence ever since his arrest at Dubai airport on May 5 and British ministers had raised his case at the highest level.

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