Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Crown Prince of Bahrain, at the opening of the new Composites Technology Center at McLaren Automotive in Rotherham, UK. Picture by DPPA/Sipa USA/PA images. All rights reserved.
The promising news of British academic Matthew Hedges’ release from detention in the UAE following a presidential pardon came only four days after he was handed a life sentence for arbitrary charges relating to espionage. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) demonstrated a swift and compassionate response to the PhD student’s plight and should be applauded for their efforts to reverse the unjust conviction.
