UAE court sentences dozens of Bangladeshi nationals for protesting their home government

A court in the United Arab Emirates has sentenced dozens of Bangladeshi nationals to prison, including three to life imprisonment, for their involvement in protests against the Bangladeshi government, state media reported Monday.

The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal on Sunday issued 10-year prison sentences to 53 Bangladeshi nationals and an 11-year term to another, in addition to the three life sentences, according to the Emirates News Agency (WAM). The court also ordered the deportation of the defendants from the UAE after completing their prison terms.

WAM reported that the court heard a witness who confirmed that the defendants had organized and participated in large-scale marches across several streets in the UAE to protest decisions made by the Bangladeshi government.

The UAE authorities have ordered an investigation and expedited trial of the detained Bangladeshi nationals.

The protests in the UAE followed weeks of demonstrations in Bangladesh against a quota system that allocated up to 30% of government jobs to relatives of veterans who fought in the country’s 1971 war of independence. On Sunday, Bangladesh’s top court partially addressed the controversy by scaling back the quota system.

The UAE’s attorney general’s office indicted the Bangladeshi nationals on several charges, including “gathering in a public place and protesting against their home government with the intent to incite unrest,” obstructing law enforcement, causing harm to others, and damaging property, WAM reported.

Bangladeshi nationals constitute the UAE’s third-largest expatriate community, predominantly comprising low-paid laborers who send remittances to their families in Bangladesh.