A Scottish sailor has been granted a pardon after being sentenced to three months in prison in Bahrain.
Owen Haggerty, from Renfrewshire, was sentenced after being convicted of assault. His family say he was attempting to break up a fight.
The sailor was initially held in a detention centre following the incident on February 14, and was due to spend the next three months in the Gulf state’s Hidd Prison.
However, mum Kirsty Reynolds received a phone call on Thursday from the British Embassy to confirm that a pardon was granted and the sailor would be able to return home.
FacebookShe says the family feels like a “big weight has been lifted off their shoulders” after the ordeal.
The mum told STV News: “The last six weeks have been a blur.
“I’ve been running on adrenaline to fight for him. But this morning I just broke down to the embassy when they phone.
“I’m ecstatic for him. I feel like I have gone through every emotion.
“When I first saw the call I was thinking the worst and then they give me the news and I started shaking.”
His brother Jack was due to see him after a four-month training camp with the British Royal Navy in Bahrain.
FacebookBut instead, Owen was arrested hours before his planned departure.
Jack has described the pardon as a massive ‘relief’ for Owen and his loved ones.
The brother said: “I was in the gym and I burst into tears.
“In regards to how we feel, it is nothing compared to what Owen has experienced. I voice noted him straight away for when he got his phone back.
STV News“I was crying and telling him how I proud I was of the way he has handled this. I’ve never been prouder.
“I can’t wait for him to get home.”
Members of Owen’s family are preparing to fly out in the coming days to meet the sailor as they prepare for his return home.
Foreign secretary David Lammy said: “We’ve been working very hard with the leadership in Bahrain and I am very pleased the decision has been made to grant Mr Haggerty a pardon at this time and he will be coming home to reunite with his family.
“These cases are always distressing. This is a young man with his whole life ahead of him. I am very grateful to FCDO staff and diplomats who have worked intensely to bring him home.”
The Royal Navy has been contacted for comment.
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