British PhD scholar sentenced to life over spying
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DUBAI - 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.
"We can confirm that he was sentenced to life in prison," a family spokesperson told AFP.
"The hearing lasted less than five minutes, and his lawyer was not present." Hedges was researching the UAE's foreign and internal security policies after the Arab Spring revolutions of 2011, studies that
