UAE jails 57 Bangladeshis for holding job quota protests
The defendants had "gathered and incited riots in several streets across the UAE on Friday," WAM said, adding they would be deported after the completion of their prison terms. The charges follow a swift investigation that was ordered on Friday, according to WAM
The United Arab Emirates has handed lengthy prison sentences to 57 Bangladeshi expatriates for protesting against their government while in the Gulf country where demonstrations are banned, state media reported Monday.
On Monday, the official Emirati news agency WAM said three Bangladeshi expatriates were sentenced to life, 53 others to 10 years in prison and one to 11 years for participating in alleged protests.
The defendants had "gathered and incited riots in several streets across the UAE on Friday," WAM said, adding they would be deported after the completion of their prison terms. The charges follow a swift investigation that was ordered on Friday, according to WAM.
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A witness confirmed "that the defendants gathered and organised large-scale marches in several streets of the UAE in protest against decisions made by the Bangladeshi government," it added.
The UAE, an autocratic federation of seven sheikhdoms, is populated mostly by expatriates, many of them south Asians who work as labourers.
Bangladeshis form the third largest expatriate group in the UAE, after Pakistanis and Indians, according to the UAE foreign ministry.
The oil-rich Gulf state bans unauthorised protests and prohibits criticism of rulers or speech that is deemed to create or encourage social unrest.
Defamation, as well as verbal and written insults, whether published or made in private, are punishable by law. The country's penal code also criminalises offending foreign states or jeopardising ties with them.
