UAE Attorney General Dr. Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said that the defendant Matthew Hedges, a British, was referred to the Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal to try him for the charges against him for seeking and communicating for the benefit of a foreign country, which would damage the state's military, political and economic status. To trial on the basis of legal evidence resulting from judicial investigations conducted by the Public Prosecution, under full guarantees of the rights of the accused during the course of such investigations, in accordance with the UAE Constitution and the laws of the State, as well as the follow-up to the Embassy of his State.
He added that the defendant was presented to the state under the guise of an academic researcher. The investigations proved that his confessions match the information that resulted from the examination of his electronic devices and the information obtained by the security services, adding that the accused appeared before the court in the presence of representatives of the British Embassy. The Attorney General confirmed that the State provided the accused with a lawyer to defend him during his trial, at his expense, after he failed to appoint a lawyer, one of the constitutional guarantees of the right of the accused to a fair, fair and transparent trial in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the UAE. He explained that the accused had access to all aspects of the physical, mental and psychological care of the accused who are being tried on state soil, adding that his family and members of his embassy were allowed to visit and communicate with him, as is the case.