Image copyright Daniela Tejada Image caption Daniela Tejada previously said her husband Matthew Hedges was being held in "inhumane and degrading" conditions

A British PhD student has been sentenced to life in prison in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for spying.

Matthew Hedges, 31, of Durham University, has said he is innocent, and that he had been researching the country's security strategy.

Prosecutors say he admitted the charges in an Abu Dhabi court, which found him guilty of "spying for or on behalf of" the UK government.

The PM said the UK was urgently seeking talks with the Emirati government.

Theresa May said Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt was "seeking a call with Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed".

Mr Hunt said he was "deeply shocked and disappointed" by the verdict.

He said he had raised the case with the "highest levels of the UAE government", adding the verdict was "not what we expect from a friend and trusted partner of the United Kingdom, and runs contrary to earlier assurances".

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Theresa May is asked about the fate of Matthew Hedges at PMQs

In a statement, Hedges' family said that during the first six weeks of his detention he was interrogated without a lawyer and consular access was unavailable.

During this time he was made to sign a document in Arabic which transpired to be a confession, they said.

"Matthew does not speak or read Arabic," the family added.

Hedges' wife Daniela Tejada, who was present during the brief hearing earlier, said she was in "complete shock".

Image copyright Daniela Tejada Image caption Daniela Tejada has repeatedly rejected suggestions her husband, Matthew Hedges, is a spy

She said: "Matthew is innocent. The Foreign Office know this and have made it clear to the UAE authorities that Matthew is not a spy for them.

"This whole case has been handled appallingly from the very beginning with no-one taking Matthew's case seriously."

She said the British government "must take a stand now" and the UAE authorities "should feel ashamed for such an obvious injustice".

Ms Tejada said her husband shook his head as the verdict was delivered, adding: "I am very scared for Matt.

"I don't know where they are taking him or what will happen now. Our nightmare has gotten even worse."

At prime minister's questions, Tory MP Crispin Blunt told Mrs May she should make clear to the UAE that "if he is not released, I don't see why we should be committed to their defence".

Paul Adams

BBC diplomatic correspondent

I was confidently expecting that we would hear some good news today because all the indications through private channels, and things I understood the family had been hearing, that the Foreign Office had been hearing, that MPs had been hearing, was that the UAE was frankly a little embarrassed about this case and wanted it over with.

So no-one was expecting the sentence of life imprisonment that has absolutely stunned everyone.

According to Abu Dhabi newspaper The National, a life sentence means a maximum of 25 years in jail, after which Hedges would be deported.

Hedges, who is also liable for the costs of the case, has 30 days to appeal during which time he will be held in custody, the paper reports.

Attorney General Dr Hamad Saif Al Shamsi confirmed the sentence was not final and said Hedges had the right to appeal before the Federal Supreme Court for retrial.

He said: ''The defendant confessed in detail to his crimes during investigations whereby he was accorded his full rights and assurances as per the UAE constitution and state laws to fair and transparent trial."

Dr Al Shamsi said Hedges had appeared in court with British embassy representatives.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "They're doing this to send a signal, that's pretty clear" says MP Bob Seely, on the sentencing of Matthew Hedges by the UAE

Meanwhile, Mr Hunt urged the UAE to reconsider the case.

"Our consular officials have been in close contact with Matthew Hedges and his family," he said.

"We will continue to do everything possible to support him."

Image copyright Daniela Tejada Image caption Matthew Hedges was detained at Dubai Airport in May

Hedges is said to be in a poor state of mental health, the BBC understands, and Ms Tejada has previously criticised the lack of treatment he has received in prison.

His family allege his physical and mental health "seriously deteriorated" during solitary confinement and he was fed a "cocktail of medication" by guards that caused him to vomit on a daily basis.

Vice-Chancellor of Durham University, Professor Stuart Corbridge, said the conditions Hedges was being held in "breached his human rights".

"[And] this judgement has been delivered in the absence of anything resembling due process or a fair trial," he said.

"There has been no information given on what basis Matt was handed this sentence and no reason to believe that Matt was conducting anything other than legitimate academic research.

"We are committed to doing what we can to get Matt home safely and swiftly."

What are the links between the UK and UAE?

By BBC Reality Check

More than 5,000 UK companies do business in the UAE - it's the UK's largest export market in the Middle East and the 13th biggest in the world.

The UK exported a total of £9.8bn of goods and services in 2016.

The top UK goods exported to the UAE last year were:

machinery and mechanical appliances

electrical equipment

precious stones and metals

motor vehicles

optical, photographic and medical equipment

The UK imported £4.8bn worth of goods and services from the UAE in 2016.

There are about 120,000 UK nationals living in the UAE, according to the UK government.

British educational institutions have a presence too, with 11 UK universities represented.

The UK also has important military ties with the UAE and in 2012 announced a defence partnership with the country.

Last year a BBC investigation uncovered sales of surveillance equipment between a UK company and countries in the region, including the UAE.</s>A British academic who was accused of spying for the UK government in the United Arab Emirates after travelling to Dubai to conduct research has been sentenced to life in jail.

Matthew Hedges, 31, has been in a UAE prison for more than six months. The University of Durham PhD candidate went to the country to research his thesis and was sentenced at an Abu Dhabi court on Wednesday in a hearing that lasted less than five minutes, with no lawyer present.

His wife, Daniela Tejada, 27, who was present in the courtroom, said Hedges began shaking when the verdict was read out.

“I am in complete shock and I don’t know what to do,” she said. “Matthew is innocent. The Foreign Office know this and have made it clear to the UAE authorities that Matthew is not a spy for them.”

She said the case had been handled “appallingly” with no one taking it seriously.

“The British government must take a stand now for Matthew, one of their citizens,” she said. “They say that the UAE is an ally, but the overwhelmingly arbitrary handling of Matt’s case indicates a scarily different reality, for which Matt and I are being made to pay a devastatingly high price.”

Hedges was detained on 5 May at Dubai airport as he was leaving the country.

He was arrested after an Emirati man apparently reported him to the authorities for “asking sensitive questions about some sensitive departments” and “seeking to gather classified information on the UAE”.

Hedges’ family said he had all the correct documentation in order to enter the UAE and was researching aspects of the UAE’s foreign and domestic security strategy, including the war in Yemen.

However, the UAE’s attorney general, Hamad al-Shamsi, said in a statement to the official news agency WAM that Hedges had confessed to the charges against him. There is no independent confirmation of this claim. Hedges was taken to court in Abu Dhabi twice in October, with the case being adjourned both times.

It was only after his third court appearance that he was allowed any legal representation.

Shamsi said Hedges was accused of “spying for a foreign country, jeopardising the military, political and economic security of the state”.

He added that the ruling “was not final” as Hedges has the right to appeal against the verdict before the federal supreme court.

Hedges has denied the charges, and maintains he was in the country to research the impact of the Arab spring on the UAE’s foreign policy.

Tejada boarded a plane to the UK on Wednesday where she was due to meet with the British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, on Thursday to discuss the case.

Hunt tweeted on Wednesday:

Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) News on Matthew Hedges extremely worrying. We have seen no evidence to back up charges against him. FCO will do ALL we can to get him home & I will meet his wife Daniela tmrw. UAE claim to be friend & ally of the UK so there will be serious diplomatic consequences. Unacceptable.

At prime minister’s questions in the Commons on Wednesday, Theresa May said she was “deeply disappointed and concerned” about the case and would be raising it with the Emirati authorities.

“The Foreign Office will remain in close contact with Matthew, his family and his lawyer,” she told MPs. “We will continue to do all we can to support them as they consider the next steps and we will continue to press this matter at the highest level with the Emiratis.”

The angry British reaction to the sentence places Hunt, a relatively inexperienced foreign secretary, at odds on human rights issues with three of the most powerful countries in the Middle East – Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Hunt placed the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe at the heart of his visit to Iran this week. He is also privately appalled by Donald Trump’s decision to give a free pass to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, endorsed or covered up by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Few in the Foreign Office expected Hedges – at worst naïve, and at best innocent – to be given a life sentence for trying to carry out academic research into the UAE’s security politics.

The UAE for its part insists that when being cross-examined Hedges had pleaded guilty to all the charges laid against him. But there have been questions over the value of any confession given after many months in detention, largely in isolation.

Diplomatic relations between the UK and UAE are generally warm, and Hunt raised the Hedges case when he was in Dubai last week. The UAE’s foreign minister, Anwar Gargash, is a frequent and eloquent exponent of his country’s position during frequent visits to London, and he is widely respected.

But he has been one of the most staunch defenders of the UAE judiciary in this case, claiming that as a result of their investigations “unusual and embarrassing revelations about friends and allies had come to light”.

The UK will hope that the courts would relent on appeal, but for Hunt this is likely to be a test case if he is not released. He knows he is taking a risk by highlighting human rights cases, but feels determined to put ethics alongside commerce.

Hedges, who is originally from Exeter, had been in the country for two weeks when he was arrested.

His family have said he spent more than five and a half months in solitary confinement after his arrest, with no indication of the reason for his detention.

Tejada said that during the first six weeks he was interrogated without a lawyer or consular access, and held in “inhuman” conditions under which his mental health deteriorated. During this time he was allegedly made to sign a document in Arabic which it has now been disclosed was a confession statement. Hedges does not speak or read Arabic.

Prof John Williams, the head of the University of Durham’s school of government and international affairs where Hedges has been studying for his PhD, told the BBC: “We’re desperately worried about Matt’s welfare. He’s an innocent man – he’s been subjected to a terrible period of detention. The process of the trial has lacked any legitimacy or credibility, and his health is not good … We all hope, above everything else, that he will be home very soon.”

Hedges’ friend and fellow academic Cinzia Bianco told the Guardian he had chosen to study the UAE because he had spent part of his childhood in the country and his father still lived there.

She said: “Matthew considered the UAE even safer and closer to him because he has personal connections out there, so this has been incredibly shocking.

“We are even more outraged because this could happen to any of us. It could happen to me next month when I am conducting my own field work.”

She explained that Hedges would have had an initial contact in the UAE and would have made more connections during his work.

“You never know who you are going to speak to when you go out,” she said. “It is more of a connection on the ground and it leads to other people so you can’t get approval for every person that you are going to meet.”

Hedges has 30 days to appeal against the verdict.</s>A Durham University student has been sentenced to life in prison in the United Arab Emirates for spying.

Matthew Hedges, 31, had been held in solitary confinement since he was arrested on May 5 at Dubai Airport.

He appeared at the Federal Court of Appeal in October accused of spying for the British Government and was subsequently released on bail.

His passport was seized and he was ordered to remain in the UAE until Wednesday's court appearance.

And he has been sentenced to life in prison. A life sentence includes a maximum of 25 years in jail and is followed by deportation

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he was "deeply shocked and disappointed by the verdict."

A family spokeswoman, Nikita Bernardi, told press agency AFP after the hearing: "We can confirm that he was sentenced to life in prison. The hearing lasted less than five minutes, and his lawyer was not present."

Mr Hedges completed a Masters degree in Middle East Studies at Exeter, and began working on his PhD at Durham University in 2013.

In a statement in Arabic, the court said: "The Federal Appeals Court of Abu Dhabi sentenced Matthew Hedges, 31, to life imprisonment after being convicted of spying on the UAE and providing sensitive security and intelligence information to third parties.

"The court also ruled that he would be deported from the country after the execution of the sentence and would be charged the costs of the legal case.

"The court ordered the confiscation of all his equipment, devices, research and studies.

"The convicted person has the right to challenge the ruling with the State Security Department of the Federal Supreme Court within a maximum period of 30 days."

The latest court appearance was the third for the academic since his arrest almost seven months ago.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Middle East minister Alistair Burt have both travelled to the UAE since Mr Hedges was detained to make representations on his behalf.

His family said prior to his release on bail that they had only been allowed to visit him twice since during his detention.

His wife Daniela Tajeda told BBC News her husband had been suffering anxiety and panic attacks while in prison and had even expressed suicidal thoughts.

Previously, in a joint statement, Durham and Exeter Universities said they were "deeply concerned" for Mr Hedges' welfare.

Reacting to the result of the case, Mr Hunt said in a statement: “I am deeply shocked and disappointed by the verdict today. I have personally raised the case of Matthew Hedges at the highest levels of the UAE government, including during my visit to Abu Dhabi on 12 November.

"On that occasion, I spoke to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed.

“However, today’s verdict is not what we expect from a friend and trusted partner of the United Kingdom and runs contrary to earlier assurances.

“Our consular officials have been in close contact with Matthew Hedges and his family. We will continue to do everything possible to support him.

"I have repeatedly made clear that the handling of this case by the UAE authorities will have repercussions for the relationship between our two countries, which has to be built on trust.

"I regret the fact that we have reached this position and I urge the UAE to reconsider.”</s>A British academic has been sentenced to life in prison in the United Arab Emirates after he was accused of spying for the UK Government.

Matthew Hedges, a PhD student at Durham University, had travelled to the Middle Eastern country to interview sources about the country's foreign policy and security strategy.

The 31-year-old was detained at Dubai Airport on May 5 and held in solitary confinement for five months.

He was released on bail but his passport was seized and he was ordered to remain in the UAE until Wednesday's court appearance in Abu Dhabi, where he was given a life sentence, his family spokeswoman Nikita Bernardi said.

Mr Hedges, who lives in Exeter, Devon, denied spying for the UK government.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, and Minister of State for the Middle East Alistair Burt, have both previously travelled to the UAE to make representations on Mr Hedges' behalf.</s>LONDON — A court in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday sentenced a British academic to life in prison on spying charges, prompting a pledge from Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain that the issue would be raised “at the highest level” with the Emirati authorities.

The severity of the verdict stunned British officials, who had been reluctant to discuss the case in public in the hope that the Emirati authorities would settle the matter quietly after a high-level intervention by the British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt. British officials had also said that it was not their practice to comment on matters related to espionage.

The academic, Matthew Hedges, a 31-year-old postgraduate student at Durham University in northeastern England, was arrested in Dubai on May 5 as he was planning to fly out. Colleagues said he had been pursuing research for a doctorate on the effects of the so-called Arab Spring of 2011 on Emirati diplomacy.

But the response suggested that the Emirati authorities wanted to show other researchers that some lines of inquiry, which have not been publicly defined, were considered off limits. The Emirates largely sidestepped the pro-democracy protests that seized other Arab countries from North Africa to the Middle East in 2011.</s>A British Ph.D. student was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday in the United Arab Emirates on charges that he was spying for the United Kingdom.

Matthew Hedges, 31, a doctoral student at Durham University, was arrested at Dubai’s airport on May 5 and has been held in detention since then. Hedges traveled to the UAE for a research trip to “interview sources about the country’s security policies,” the BBC reported.

The Federal Appeals Court of Abu Dhabi said Hedges was found guilty of "spying on the UAE and providing sensitive security and intelligence information to third parties." Local papers say police secured evidence of Hedges' activities from his electronic devices and surveillance collected by members of the Emirati intelligence. Durham University, meanwhile, said that there was no reason to believe Hedges "was conducting anything other than legitimate academic research."

BRITISH STUDENT HELD IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT IN UAE AFTER BEING ACCUSED OF SPYING, REPORT SAYS

Hedges can challenge the ruling within 30 days. The BBC reported, citing an Abu Dhabi newspaper, that a “life sentence means a maximum of 25 years in jail.”

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt had traveled to the UAE last week and discussed the case with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed and Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed. He described the situation as “unacceptable.”

"Today's verdict is not what we expect from a friend and trusted partner of the United Kingdom and runs contrary to earlier assurances," Hunt said in a statement which underscored his surprise at the decision.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said she was “deeply disappointed and concerned” about the decision.

“The Foreign Office will remain in close contact with Matthew, his family and his lawyer,” she said on Wednesday. “We will continue to do all we can to support them as they consider the next steps and we will continue to press this matter at the highest level with the Emiratis.”

Hedges’ wife Daniela Tejada, who was in court, said she was in “complete shock.”

"Matthew is innocent," she said. "The Foreign Office knows this and have made it clear to the UAE authorities that Matthew is not a spy for them."

Urging the British government to make a stand for him, she added: "I am very scared for Matt. I don't know where they are taking him or what will happen now. Our nightmare has gotten even worse."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>The United Arab Emirates has sentenced a British academic to life in prison on spying charges, prompting threats of diplomatic blowback from the United Kingdom.

Matthew Hedges, a 31-year-old Durham University graduate student, was sentenced Wednesday in a five-minute court session in Abu Dhabi, the Washington Post reports. He has 30 days to appeal the verdict.

Hedges was in the country on a two-week trip related to his PhD research on Emirati security policy, his family and university said. He was arrested on May 5 at the Dubai International Airport.

For four months, Hedges was held in solitary confinement. The academic was unexpectedly released on bail last month, and was charged with espionage after signing a confession statement in Arabic, a language he does not speak, according to the Post.

A judge sentenced him to life in prison in Wednesday. According to a statement from the UAE, British embassy representatives were present at the trial.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he was “deeply shocked and disappointed” by the ruling, and warned that the case could have diplomatic “repercussions.”

“Today’s verdict is not what we expect from a friend and trusted partner of the United Kingdom and runs contrary to earlier assurances,” Hunt said in a statement. “I urge the UAE to reconsider.”

British Prime Minister Theresa May also expressed concern and promised to discuss the case with the UAE “at the highest level.”

Family members said Hedges’ health had deteriorated significantly during his detention, and he was hospitalized in October. He reportedly began vomiting on a daily basis after prison officials gave him a mixture of antidepressants, anti-anxiety medicine and sleeping pills, the Post reports.

Daniela Tejada, Hedge’s wife, said the family had been silent on the case for months after British government officials advised them keeping a low-profile would help ease the sentencing.

“The Foreign Office…have made it clear to the UAE authorities that Matthew is not a spy for them,” Tejada said in a statement following the verdict, according to the Post. “This whole case has been handled appallingly from the very beginning with no one taking Matthew’s case seriously.”

Human Rights Watch deputy Middle East director Michael Page said Hedge’s case lays bare the disparity between the Gulf state’s attempts to portray itself as “a progressive and tolerant country” and its “fundamental lack of respect for the rule of law.”

“UAE rulers cannot claim to preside over a global knowledge and education hub while locking up academics,” Page said.</s>British academic Matthew Hedges has been sentenced to life in prison in the United Arab Emirates after he was accused of spying for the UK government.

The PhD student at Durham University had travelled to the Gulf state to research his thesis and interview sources about the country's foreign policy and security strategy, his family say.

He has 30 days to appeal after a Federal Appeals Court convicted him on charges of spying and sharing sensitive security and intelligence information to third parties.

Mr Hedges, 31, didn't have a lawyer when he was sentenced on Wednesday during a hearing that lasted less than five minutes, a spokeswoman for his family says.

The Brit, who has denied accusations that he was a spy posing as an academic researcher, was accompanied by his wife, Daniela Tejada, and diplomats from the British Embassy.

A family spokeswoman, Nikita Bernardi, told AFP after the hearing: "We can confirm that he was sentenced to life in prison. The hearing lasted less than five minutes, and his lawyer was not present."

Foreign Secretary Jremy Hunt said the UAE's handling of Mr Hedges' case will have repercussions for the relationship between the two countries.

He said the verdict is not what was expected from a "friend and trusted partner" and it runs contrary to earlier assurances.

A life sentence includes a maximum of 25 years in jail and is followed by deportation, the National reported.

Mr Hedges, who lives in Exeter, Devon, was also ordered to pay all legal fees, and his electronic devices and research have been confiscated.

His supporters have claimed his case was politically motivated and accused the UAE of abusing its judicial power and his human rights.

In a statement in Arabic, the court said: "The Federal Appeals Court of Abu Dhabi sentenced Matthew Hedges, 31, to life imprisonment after being convicted of spying on the UAE and providing sensitive security and intelligence information to third parties.

"The court also ruled that he would be deported from the country after the execution of the sentence and would be charged the costs of the legal case.

"The court ordered the confiscation of all his equipment, devices, research and studies.

"The convicted person has the right to challenge the ruling with the State Security Department of the Federal Supreme Court within a maximum period of 30 days."

Hamad Al Shamsi, the UAE's attorney general, had earlier dfended the case and said that Mr Hedges was referred to court based on legal evidence and findings from investigations that were carried out by the public prosecution, the Khaleej Times reported.

He added: "The investigations guaranteed the accused's legal rights in accordance with the UAE's constitution and legal system, and close monitoring of members from the British Embassy."

The attorney general claimed Mr Hedges' "confession statements" to investigators were "similar to the evidence and information taken from his electronic devices", the Khaleej Times reported.

He claimed Mr Hedges was treated fairly by the judicial system and humanely while he was held.

The Brit was detained at Dubai International Airport on May 5 after an Emirati man told police that Mr Hedges had been asking for sensitive information, UAE media reported.

He was held in solitary confinement for five months until he was released on bail in October. He was formally charged last month.

His passport was seized and he was ordered to remain in the UAE until Wednesday's court appearance in Abu Dhabi, the third since his arrest almost seven months ago.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Middle East minister Alistair Burt have both travelled to the UAE since Mr Hedges was detained to make representations on his behalf.

Before the life sentence was handed out, Ms Bernardi, the representative for Mr Hedges' family, said they did not know what to expect from the court appearance.

She said: "We have no indication as to what way it will go. We're trying to stay hopeful but we don't want to raise our hopes too much."

Mr Hedges, a specialist in Middle Eastern studies at Durham University, went to the UAE to research his PhD thesis.

At Mr Hedge's last hearing on October 24, his court-appointed lawyer maintained that he is innocent.

On October 29, Mr Hedges was released from detention and he has since been staying in Dubai with an ankle bracelet monitoring his movements.

After he was released on bail, Mr Hedges was in a good mood and was "still hoping for justice", his wife, Ms Tejada, told the BBC.

She said 600 scholars from around the world have supported an open letter demanding Mr Hedges' immediate release.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has previously said there are limits to what it can say publicly about the case because of the legal proceedings.

It said it was monitoring developments closely and staff were in close contact with Mr Hedges' wife Daniela, offering her support.

Mr Hedges has been working on his PhD at Durham since 2013.

He had previously completed a Master's degree in Middle East Studies at the University of Exeter.</s>UAE sentences British academic to life in prison for spying

LONDON (AP) — The family of a British academic jailed in the United Arab Emirates on spying allegations says he's been sentenced to life in prison.

Matthew Hedges, a 31-year-old PhD student in Middle Eastern Studies at Durham University, was arrested at Dubai Airport on May 5. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has travelled to the UAE to make representations on his behalf.

Hunt expressed shock at the verdict Wednesday and says the decision "is not what we expect from a friend and trusted partner of the United Kingdom and runs contrary to earlier assurances."

Hunt says consular officials have been in close contact with the academic's family and the case "will have repercussions for the relationship between our two countries, which has to be built on trust."</s>(Bloomberg) — A British academic has been sentenced to life in prison in the United Arab Emirates on charges of spying for the U.K., according to his family, a verdict swiftly denounced by the government in London which raised the possibility of “diplomatic consequences.”

University of Durham doctoral student Matthew Hedges had been charged with espionage and jeopardizing the state’s military, security and economy, according to earlier statements by U.A.E. authorities. Hedges was arrested at Dubai’s airport on May 5 after spending two weeks in the U.A.E. studying the impact of the Arab Spring uprisings on the country’s foreign policy and security strategy, his wife Daniela Tejada has said.

The office of the U.A.E.’s attorney general said Hedges could appeal to the supreme court for a retrial, according to the state-run WAM news agency, without specifying the crimes it said he had confessed to. The prosecutor said U.K. embassy officials were present during the trial.

Hedges’s family, however, described what they said were flawed proceedings. The academic was sentenced without the presence of his lawyer in a hearing that lasted five minutes, it said, after being forced to sign a confession document in Arabic, a language he doesn’t read. He was previously held in solitary confinement for five months.

The court ruling in Abu Dhabi drew forceful condemnation from the U.K., with Prime Minister Theresa May expressing her deep concern and disappointment and vowing to take the case to the highest levels.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the ruling “runs contrary to earlier assurances.” Hunt visited Abu Dhabi on Nov. 12 after the charges against Hedges were revealed.

The verdict “is not what we expect from a friend and trusted partner of the United Kingdom,” he said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. In a later tweet, Hunt said: “UAE claim to be friend & ally of the UK so there will be serious diplomatic consequences. Unacceptable.”

Hedges’s wife, who was present in court, called on the U.K. government to take a stand in support of her husband.

“They say that the U.A.E. is an ally, but the overwhelmingly arbitrary handling of Matt’s case indicates a scarily different reality, for which Matt and I are being made to pay a devastatingly high price,” she said in the statement. Hunt said he would meet Tejada on Thursday.
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• Australian filmmaker convicted of spying after using drone to photograph Cambodian opposition party rally

The disclosures mark a rare case of going public with an espionage case between the U.K. and the U.A.E., which maintain cordial ties. The seven-state U.A.E. federation, which includes Abu Dhabi and Dubai, has taken a hard line on political Islam and domestic activism since 2011, when revolutions swept through the Middle East and North Africa and threatened the established order across the Arab world.

— With assistance from Samer Khalil Al-Atrush and Dana Khraiche
Matthew Hedges, a British academic student studying at Durham University, is sentenced to life imprisonment in the United Arab Emirates after being convicted of spying.