![](\"https:\/\/cdni.rt.com\/files\/2018.11\/thumbnail\/5bf6b64adda4c839668b45b6.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
The British state has been condemned following the life sentencing of a student accused of spying for them against the UAE. The accused\u2019s wife slammed the govt for \u201cputting their UAE interests above a citizen\u2019s rightful freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniela Tejada hit out at the Foreign Office, shortly after returning to the UK from Abu Dhabi, where she saw her husband, Matthew Hedges, jailed for life. Hedges denies the charges against him, while UAE prosecutors claim that he confessed.<\/p>\n
Tejada accused UK officials of disregarding her requests for representations, in an interview with the BBC, despite claiming she contacted the Foreign Office \u201con a weekly basis,\u201d<\/em> since her husband\u2019s arrest in May.<\/p>\n Tejada said: \u201cI was under the impression they were putting their interests with the UAE above a British citizen\u2019s rightful freedom and welfare.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThey just disregarded my requests, they said it wasn\u2019t part of their job, it wasn\u2019t part of their duty,\u201d<\/em> she continued.<\/p>\n \u201cOn one occasion, one of the case workers said the Foreign Office did not have a duty of care so weren\u2019t obliged to make such representations.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Tejada told the Times that she had asked then-UK Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, to be left out of any attempts to free her husband, due to the way he had mishandled the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian mother jailed for spying in Iran.<\/p>\n Current Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt responded to the ruling by saying: \u201cI am deeply shocked and disappointed,\u201d adding it would have \u201crepercussions for the relationship between our two countries.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Despite the government\u2019s supposed concern, a UK trade minister, Baroness Rona Fairhead CBE, called for stronger post-Brexit trade links between the UK and UAE on November 14.<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0British student jailed for life for \u2018spying\u2019 on UAE, UK warns of \u2018repercussions\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Some of Hunt and Johnson\u2019s colleagues have lambasted the treatment of the PhD student. Tory MP Johnny Mercer, a former British Army officer, claimed the UAE\u2019s strong defense ties with the UK should have been reason enough to stop \u201cabsurd things like this happening.\u201d<\/em> UAE troops are trained by UK officers and 200 Emiratis have graduated from the military school, Sandhurst.<\/p>\n According to analysis of defense exports cleared by Liam Fox\u2019s Department for International Trade (DIT), arms sales to the UAE rose by 94 percent to \u00a3260mn in 2017.<\/p>\n Hedges\u2019 case is proving to be a test of the UK\u2019s international power.<\/p>\n Widespread surprise abounds over UAE treatment of Brit student Matthew Hedges given nation’s deep defence ties with UK. <\/p>\n UK officers train UAE forces on the ground & 200 Emiratis have graduated from Sandhurst, while Port Zayed is the Royal Navy’s most visited base in the world. https:\/\/t.co\/uVf5EmV75P<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Lucy Fisher (@LOS_Fisher) November 22, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n This is ridiculous. Our Defence assistance, mentoring and intelligence relationships alone with this country should preclude absurd things like this happening. From a friend and partner, simply unacceptable. Consequences must be immediate until he is released. Resilience required pic.twitter.com\/ouvxfjJIBH<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Johnny Mercer MP (@JohnnyMercerUK) November 21, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Life imprisonment for British PhD student #matthewhedges<\/a> mocks justice, academic freedom and the UK. This outrageous verdict was reportedly delivered in a five minute hearing with no lawyer present. Below, my question at #PMQs<\/a> today: pic.twitter.com\/zUQ7Ium0Wk<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Crispin Blunt MP (@CrispinBlunt) November 21, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n The UAE are supposed to be allies of Britain, and yet they have given a life sentence to one of our citizens, Matthew Hedges, for spying. It is unproven, unjust and gravely worrying.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\n
\n\n
\n\n