The National Interest Foundation invites you to attend a private lunch discussion event with British academic Matthew Hedges regarding his wrongful detainment, imprisonment, and torture at the hands of the United Arab Emirates government, his research, and what he is doing now for accountability and research on the UAE’s support for Russian sanctions evasion.

Disclaimer: NIF events are by email invitation only and are non-transferable. You will receive a confirmation email if you have been successfully added to our event attendee list upon registration. Those who do not receive a confirmation email will not be admitted. Also, please note that when registering for any of our events, all required fields must be properly filled out. We reserve the right to deny entry for those who fail to do so.

About our Speaker:

Matthew Hedges is an academic focusing on authoritarianism. While conducting fieldwork research for his PhD in the UAE, he was detained, tortured, and sentenced to life imprisonment under the charge of espionage on behalf of the British Government. He was awarded his doctorate by Durham University and has since published this as Reinventing the Sheikhdom: Clan, Power and Patronage in MBZ’s UAE. His current research focuses on the commercial activities of non-Western intelligence organizations.

About our Moderator:

Khaled Saffuri is the Founder and President of the National Interest Foundation (NIF), a nonpartisan think tank and nonprofit organization established in April of 2018 which is focused on bettering relationships between the United States and countries across the globe through the promotion of smarter foreign policy. Mr. Saffuri has previously served as a Principal at Meridian Strategies providing international business and government clients with strategic and public affairs consulting services, and also founded and ran one of the United States’ prominent and most active organizations to represent the Middle East and Muslim-Americans. He has worked for many years with Members of Congress and has testified in front of Congressional Committees, advising them on international issues and leading Congressional delegations to the Middle East. Due to his extensive background and expertise, Mr. Saffuri is a regular contributor to a number of important media outlets in the United States and internationally including CNN, CBS, and BBC and contributes articles and written publications to outlets such as The Washington Post and The American Conservative.