UAE pardons, releases British academic convicted of spying

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates said on Monday it pardoned and released a British academic sentenced to life in prison on charges of spying in the Gulf Arab country, after showing videos of him purportedly acknowledging that he worked for MI6, the overseas arm of British intelligence. The announcement of Matthew Hedges' release ends a diplomatic headache for the UAE, a staunch American and British ally in the Mideast. However, Emirati officials made a point of insisting their arrest came on solid ground, showing a closed-door meeting of journalists hastily convened in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, short video clips of Hedges allegedly acknowledging his intelligence work.