Matthew Hedges: When Britain's trade relations with the UAE become more important than the interest of its citizens

The Guardian newspaper published an article by British academic Matthew Hedges who was detained in the UAE, stressing that his country puts its commercial and political interests above human rights and the rights of its citizens in its relations with the UAE.

The writer said he was detained in the UAE for seven months in solitary confinement, lived in appalling conditions and prevented from communicating with his lawyer.He said that he received limited support from the British Foreign Office and believed that his country placed its commercial and political interests above the human and citizens' rights.

He said in his article on Tuesday, the anniversary of his release, that the detainee in which he was held was only a room without windows in the compound of administrative offices in the UAE.

For the first six months of his detention, he said he had been interrogated, denied access to any lawyer, and received appropriate consular assistance from his country's embassy.

"I have suffered repeatedly from painful interrogations, and in the end I was sentenced to life imprisonment and forced to sign a false confession."

He pointed out that his case is not the only one "many visitors to the UAE suffered from its irrational and retaliatory laws."

He cited another British national, Ali Issa Ahmed, who was arrested, beaten and interrogated before being jailed for several days without food or drink, just because he was encouraging Qatar at the Asian Cup in the UAE earlier this year.

He described the UAE, which promotes itself as an "oasis of tolerance," as an "illusion" and is completely subject to the whims of those who enact and enforce laws.

“This so-called judicial system, in which laws are regularly changed or generally formulated so that they can be misunderstood in countless ways, is even worse for the citizens of the state itself,” he said.

Matthew Hedges credited his release to the campaign launched by his wife and to the media pressure on the UAE and British governments.

Bad publicity and exposing Dubai's reputation as a tourism and business destination appeared to be stronger than any diplomatic tool or means to enforce human rights, he said.

The academic, who is preparing for his Ph.D. from the University of Dram, UK, expressed his concern that his country is offering its trade relationship with the UAE to protect its citizens and defend human rights, especially as the latter is the largest market for British exports in the Middle East.