The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday convicted 57 Bangladeshis on charges of unlawful assembly for gathering in Bangladesh and inciting riots, state media Emirates News Agency reported.
Three Bangladeshis were sentenced to life imprisonment, 53 to 10 years imprisonment, and one Bangladeshi who entered the UAE illegally to 11 years imprisonment for inciting riots and calling for demonstrations to pressure the Bangladeshi government. The court ordered the confiscation of the seized equipment and the deportation of all 57 Bangladeshis who have completed their sentences.
The investigation team said 57 Bangladeshis had participated in acts of inciting disturbance, gathering in public and disturbing peace. Witnesses also told the court that Bangladeshis had organised large-scale demonstrations in the UAE to protest against the Bangladesh government’s decisions, resulting in obstruction of law enforcement and endangering property.
Prosecutors had asked the court to give the Bangladeshi man the maximum sentence, but his defense lawyers argued that the Bangladeshi man lacked criminal intent and there was insufficient evidence to impose a sentence, but the court nonetheless found there was enough evidence to convict him.
Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Sunday overturned the reinstatement of the government’s quota system for civil service jobs after days of deadly unrest and clashes between police and protesters. On Friday, the Bangladesh government imposed a nationwide curfew and deployed the military after protests against the government’s quota system intensified. The decision is aimed at restoring order amid widespread violence that has killed at least 105 people.
The protests, which began as scattered student protests against rules reserving civil service jobs for the families of independence war veterans, have intensified over the past week. Demonstrators say the quota system is discriminatory and favors pro-government groups. Students have clashed with police, hurled bricks, set vehicles on fire and stormed prisons, and authorities have responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades. Bangladeshi police also arrested one of the country’s most powerful opposition leaders on Friday and banned public gatherings for the day.