Update:
26 November 2018
In various interviews, Caabu Director Chris Doyle warmly welcomed the release of Matthew Hedges. "The key thing today is that Matthew Hedges is released and he can return home to his family who have been through so much. It has been a terrible seven months for them and now it is the chance for them to recover and get their lives back.” Caabu is also grateful to the many MPs and others who tirelessly raised the issue often behind the scenes to bring this about.
Update:
Chris Doyle quoted in the Independent, 23 November 2018
“The foreign secretary has stated that there will be serious diplomatic consequences, but we have no idea what that means as yet.”
“It must be more than words or else Britain will not be taken seriously, not just by the UAE but by other states. If those diplomatic consequences and pressures do not yield results, and very soon, Britain must consider non-diplomatic measures. ”
Press Release:
Caabu is shocked and appalled by the sentencing of Matthew Hedges to life imprisonment in the UAE. He was sentenced after a five minute trial and with no lawyer present.
Commenting on this Caabu Director, Chris Doyle stated: “The United Kingdom has long term and deep relations with the UAE, which everyone would love to see continue. However, this was a grotesque mistrial and the treatment of Matthew Hedges should not be the behaviour Britain expects of an ally. The UAE should release Matthew at once or face serious consequences. It should not be business as usual.”
The British Prime Minister Theresa May told the House of Commons she was "deeply disappointed and concerned" at the UAE sentencing for life British citizen Matthew Hedges on the charge of spying for the United Kingdom. In response to former Caabu Chair, Crispin Blunt MP, the Prime Minister stated that the Foreign Secretary was attempting to speak his Emirati counterpart.
