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UAE imprisons 57 Bangladeshis for protests against their home government

Monday, 22 July 2024 11:20 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 22 July 2024 11:20 AM ]

UAE sentences 57 Bangladeshis for protesting against their government.

The United Arab Emirates has sentenced 57 Bangladeshi expatriates to lengthy prison terms for staging protest in the Persian Gulf Arab country against their home government.

The official Emirati news agency WAM said on Monday that the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal sentenced three Bangladeshis to life, 53 others to 10 years in prison and one to 11 years for taking part in protests.

The defendants had "gathered and incited riots in several streets across the UAE on Friday," the news agency said, adding that they would be deported after they serve their prison terms.

According to the report, the charges follow a swift investigation that was ordered on Friday.

A witness confirmed "the defendants gathered and organized large-scale marches in several streets of the UAE in protest against decisions made by the Bangladeshi government," the WAM added.

Protests have rocked Bangladesh this month against a controversial quota system for government jobs, now scaled back, that critics say benefits supporters of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's 15 years of autocratic rule.

Some 163 people were killed and over 500 others, including some opposition leaders, arrested in the ensuing clashes.

The sentences come as the UAE, populated mostly by expatriates, bans protests and criminalizes offending foreign states or jeopardizing relations with them.

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