The United Arab Emirates signalled on Friday that a British academic it jailed for life on spying charges could be freed after his family appealed for clemency. Matthew Hedges, 31, was sentenced on Wednesday on charges of spying for the British government, in a move described as deeply disappointing by Prime Minister Theresa May. “Mr Hedges’ family have made a request for clemency and the government is studying that request,” the UAE’s ambassador to London, Sulaiman Hamid Almazroui, said. Published in Daily Times, November 24th 2018.