On Monday, July 22, a court in United Arab Emirates (UAE) handed long prison sentences to 57 Bangladeshi citizens for protesting against their own government in the Arabic country. While 3 of the Bangladeshis were awarded life imprisonment, 1 was awarded 11 years prison sentence, and 53 others were sentenced for 10 years.
Emirates News Agency WAM reported, “The court heard a witness who 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.”
Following the completion of the prison terms, the Bangladeshi citizens will be deported from the UAE as per the Abu Dhabi court order. Protests are banned in UAE and any public protests generally invite legal action.
The UAE’s attorney general’s office noted that the Bangladeshi nationals faced multiple 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, according to WAM.
Earlier, on July 20, UAE authorities started an inquiry and expedited trial for the detained Bangladeshi nationals following their protests. The protests in the UAE by Bangladeshi citizens followed weeks of protests in Bangladesh over quota in government jobs for relatives of veterans from the 1971 war of independence.
Bangladesh student protests
Bangladesh has been witnessing violent protests for more than a month over the decision of the High Court to reinstate 30% reservation in government jobs to the descendants of the freedom fighters of the 1971 Liberation War.
The agitation against the ‘quota politics’, which is said to benefit members of Hasina’s Awami League, is largely spearheaded by students belonging to prominent colleges and universities in the country.
Over 100 people died in the violence that ensued following the protests. In a significant decision, the Bangladesh Supreme Court has scrapped most of the quotas in govt jobs amid violent protests against the reservations for grandchildren of freedom fighters.
