File photo used for representation
Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Authorities in the United Arab Emirates ordered life imprisonment for three Bangladeshi nationals arrested for protesting against their home government, state media reported.
The Federal Court of Appeals in Abu Dhabi further ordered sentenced 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," according to the state-owned Emirates News Agency, WAM, adding they would be deported after the completion of their prison terms.
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The protests in the UAE followed weeks of protests in Bangladesh by demonstrators protesting a quota system that reserved up to 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971. The country's top court on Sunday scaled back on the controversial system, in a partial victory for student protesters.
The UAE's attorney general's office indicted Saturday the Bangladeshis 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, according to WAM.
Bangladeshi nationals make up the UAE’s third largest expatriate community, many of whom are low-paid laborers seeking to send money back home to their families.
