UK academic jailed by UAE on espionage charges slams Edinburgh University for inviting Emirati professor

a british scholar wrongly jailed On Tuesday he criticized the University of Edinburgh for hosting an Emirati political scientist who had publicly supported his detention, over Emirati espionage.

In 2018, Matthew Hedges, a PhD student at Durham University, was held in an Abu Dhabi prison for six months after being accused by Emirati authorities of working for the British spy agency MI6.

Hedges claimed after his arrest in Dubai that he was tortured, interrogated for up to 15 hours at a time, forced to use drugs and had no real access to legal counsel. He was sentenced by a court to 25 years in prison for espionage “for or on behalf of” the UK, but was later pardoned by the UAE government.

At the time of his arrest, Emirati academic Professor Abdulhalik Abdullah made inflammatory comments on social media about the Hedges case, accusing Hedges of leading a double life and “pretending” to be an academic . In a further post, Abdullah called Hedges a “disgrace to academia” who “doesn’t deserve my sympathy”.

Legalize “Despicable Practices”

Abdullah was then invited to the University of Edinburgh for a forum titled “Change in an Era of Geopolitical Change”, prompting Hedges to claim the Scottish university was “legitimizing” his accusers.

“On what basis can they legitimize this? Will they find him supporting despicable practices? Is it appropriate? What does this mean for the University of Edinburgh?” Hedges told era.

Hedges does not want the event to be cancelled, but wants the academic to be scrutinized by academic freedom in the UAE and how he learned intimate details about Hedges’ case.

Abdullah claimed the British academic was “only seeking public attention” by drawing attention to the issue.

“I think it’s the state’s point of view [that Hedges] 100% certified as a spy,” Abdullah told this era.

“He had a fair and transparent trial, with British officials observing the details,” Abdullah claimed. human rights watch The trial was condemned as a farce.

He further stated that he would be happy to answer any questions raised at the event.

University of Edinburgh tells this era They are “committed to upholding free speech and academic freedom” and “fostering a safe environment where members of our community can discuss and debate challenging topics.”

Hedges later said he had a “constructive dialogue” with the university and that “the university will ask the speaker important questions to understand his true intentions and perspective”.