The United Arab Emirates has pardoned a British academic researcher sentenced to life for spying.
Matthew Hedges, 31, was handed a life sentence last week, sparking international outrage.
The decision to pardon him comes after Emirati officials showed a video to reporters of Hedges, a doctorate student in Middle Eastern studies at Durham University, claiming he is a captain in MI6.
The footage was shared with journalists at a news conference in Abu Dhabi on Monday. The video, which Emirati officials did not allow journalists to record, shows Hedges describing himself as a captain in MI6 during what appears to be a court hearing in the Gulf Arab country.
Another clip appears to show Hedges speaking to someone in an office and saying: "It helps the research to go in in an easy way."
Then, Hedges is seen snapping his fingers and adds: "Then it becomes MI6."
Emirati authorities showed the video after coming under increasing international pressure over Hedges' life sentence, handed down last week.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/middle...08886056/.html