British academic Matthew Hedges had “suicidal thoughts” while detained in the United Arab Emirates on espionage charges, he said in a radio interview on Wednesday.
Seated next to his wife Daniela Tejada, who lobbied the governments of the UK and UAE for his release, Hedges described suffering panic attacks and dreaming about hanging himself.
The UAE pardoned Hedges last month after showing a video of him purportedly confessing to being a member of Britain's MI6 intelligence agency. Britain has denied he was a spy and welcomed his pardon.
The 31-year-old doctoral student at Durham University had been held in the UAE since May 5, when he was arrested at Dubai airport after a two-week research visit.