UAE jails 57 Bangladeshis over protests against own government

UAE, July 23 (BBC) - A court in the United Arab Emirates has handed 57 Bangladeshis long prison terms for holding protests in the Gulf state against their own country’s government.

Three of the unnamed defendants were sentenced to life for “inciting riots in several streets across the UAE on Friday”, while 53 others were jailed for 10 years and one for 11 years, state-run Wam news agency reported.

It cited their court-appointed defence lawyer as arguing during Sunday’s trial that the gatherings had no criminal intent and that the evidence was insufficient.

Amnesty International condemned what it called the UAE’s “extreme reaction to the mere existence of a public protest” on its soil.

Protests are effectively illegal in the UAE, where foreigners make up almost 90% of the population. Bangladeshis are the third largest expatriate group.

In Bangladesh, more than 150 people have been killed and 500 arrested during days of violence sparked by student-led demonstrations against quotas on government jobs.

On Monday some of the protest leaders gave the government a 48-hour ultimatum to lift a nationwide curfew and restore internet services. They are also demanding the resignation of officials they blame for violence against demonstrators.

The unrest is among the most serious challenges Sheikh Hasina has faced in 15 consecutive years as the country’s prime minister.

According to Wam, the trial of the 57 Bangladeshis heard that they had “organised large-scale marches in several streets of the UAE in protest against decisions made by the Bangladeshi government”.

“This led to riots, disruption of public security, obstruction of law enforcement, and endangerment of public and private property,” it said. “The police had warned the protesters, ordering them to disperse, to which they were unresponsive”.

The court rejected the defendants’ defence and ordered that they be deported after serving their sentences, Wam said.

There was no immediate comment from Bangladesh’s government. But its consulate in Dubai urged citizens to respect local laws in a social media post on Sunday.

Amnesty International’s UAE researcher, Devin Kenney, said it was the second mass trial in the UAE this month, in which dozens of people had been sentenced to “huge prison terms literally overnight, on charges involving no element of violence”.

“[The] extreme reaction to the mere existence of a public protest on Emirati soil shows that the state places great priority on suppressing any manifestation of dissent in the country," he told AFP news agency.

On 10 July, a court in the UAE handed life sentences to 43 human rights defenders and political dissidents who were convicted of “creating a terrorist organisation”.

Human rights groups said the organisation had been an “independent advocacy group” and severely criticised the mass trial as a “mockery of justice”.