The British grandfather who faced 350 lashes in Saudi Arabia after being allegedly caught with 'homemade alcohol' will be released from custody within a week, the Foreign Secretary has confirmed.
Philip Hammond, who is on a key visit to the region, tweeted of his "delight" about Mr Andree's imminent release, saying that the 74-year-old would soon be reunited with his family.
They made several emotive appeals for his release - including a video message from Mr Andree's grandchildren directly to the Prime Minister David Cameron - saying they were afraid he would not survive if the punishment was carried out.
Mr Andree's son Simon told the BBC that he was "absolutely thrilled" at the news his father - who suffers from cancer and asthma - would be released.
He had previously told The Sun that his father, who works in the oil industry, had lived happily in the Middle East for 25 years before being 'caught' with homemade wine by Saudi religious police.
“He is 74 years of age, has had cancer three times and his wife is dying in a home in the UK,” he said.
"He now needs medical care for his cancer and asthma, and there is no doubt in our mind that 350 lashes will kill him."
The news comes at the start of Mr Hammond's four-nation Gulf tour, where he will be focusing on regional security and extremism, at a time of heightened tensions between the UK and the Arab state.
Britain has put pressure on the country over its alleged human rights abuses, and the implementation of strict Islamic laws.
Amnesty International UK Government and Political Relations Manager Lucy Wake warned that we must not forget those in similar positions of vulnerability.
“This is obviously a huge relief to all concerned, and we welcome the fact that the prime minister had reportedly intervened directly in the case," she said.
“However, Mr Andree isn’t theonly person who’s been facing hundreds of lashes in Saudi Arabia - the blogger Raif Badawi is still in exactly this terrible position.
“We’d like to see the UK pushing harder on cases like Mr Badawi’s and the young protester Ali al-Nimr who is presently on death row in Saudi Arabia.
“We certainly shouldn’t allow ourselves to be warned off the topic of Saudi Arabia’s atrocious human rights record by finger-wagging Saudi Arabian officials.”
Shortly before he tweeted about Mr Andree's release, Mr Hammond wrote of his meeting with King Salman and the Saudi ambassador to the UK Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, during which they "exchanged views on range of issues including Syria, Isis and Yemen".
The ambassador has previously warned of "serious repercussions" over the "alarming change" in the UK's attitude towards Saudi Arabia, the BBC has reported.
Mr Hammond is due to give a speech on extremism at the eleventh Manama Dialogue security summit this weekend in Bahrain.
