UK ordered to apologise to academic over alleged torture in UAE

UK ordered to apologise to academic over alleged torture in UAE

The UK government was on Thursday ordered to apologise and pay £1,500 in compensation to a British academic imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates and allegedly tortured in 2018, causing a rupture between London and its Gulf ally.

The parliamentary ombudsman said there was a “profound failure” by British embassy staff in missing signs of potential torture when they visited Matthew Hedges, a doctoral candidate at Durham university, in prison in the UAE.

Hedges was arrested at Dubai airport in early May 2018 on suspicion of being a British spy after conducting research for his PhD thesis on military developments following the Arab Spring. He was given a life sentence in November the same year, only to be pardoned days later as his case threatened to derail the country’s close ties with Britain.

Following his release the relationship between the two governments has improved, although both sides continue to disagree over the true nature of Hedges’ role in Abu Dhabi.

Hedges said he was interrogated for up to 15 hours a day, kept in solitary confinement and forcibly administered with medication after being sentenced to life in jail. The UAE has repeatedly denied any mistreatment of Hedges.

The academic, who has previously criticised the government’s failure