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A UAE court has sentenced 57 Bangladeshi nationals to prison for protesting in the Gulf state in solidarity with the anti-quota movement back home.
Bangladesh was hit by its worst unrest in a decade last week when mass protests against a plan to offer 30 percent of job opportunities to families of 1971 war heroes turned violent, leaving more than 170 people, mostly students, dead.
The Supreme Court on Sunday scaled back government job quotas, but the move came after protesting students clashed with security forces, firing tear gas and rubber bullets and injuring thousands.
To contain the protests, Sheikh Hasina’s government has issued “shoot on sight” orders, declared an indefinite curfew and a partial communications blackout, and deployed troops to the capital, Dhaka.
Bangladeshis living abroad demonstrated in solidarity with the protests back home, including in the UAE.
People were arrested last Friday as they took to the streets of the Gulf state “protesting the Bangladesh government’s decision”.
Three were sentenced to life imprisonment, ranging from 53 years to 10 years, and one was given an 11-year sentence for “incitement to assembly and riot,” according to the state news agency.
They will be deported to Bangladesh after serving their sentences, the news agency said.
Unauthorised protests are banned in the UAE, as is any action that offends or endangers relations with a foreign country.
Bangladeshi soldiers patrol the streets of Dhaka (AP)
At least 1,200 people, including students and opposition members, have been arrested in Bangladesh in a crackdown on protests, according to AFP news agency.
Prime Minister Hasina on Monday blamed political opponents for inciting the violence and said a night-time curfew imposed on Friday would be lifted “once the situation improves.”
“When the arson attacks began, the students who were taking part in the protests claimed they were not involved,” he said, accusing the Bangladesh nationalist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, and its student wing of bearing responsibility for the violence.
“I was forced to impose a curfew to protect the lives and property of my people. I never wanted that.”
Police clash with protesting students in Bangladesh (AP)
Student groups leading the protests have called for a 48-hour halt and for the government to meet their demands within that time frame. They are calling for an official apology from Prime Minister Hasina and the reopening of university campuses that were closed when the unrest began.
The government on Monday approved a Supreme Court ruling ordering 93 percent of government jobs to be allocated on the basis of merit, 5 percent for veterans of the 1971 war and 2 percent for ethnic minorities, transgender people and people with disabilities.
Dhaka looked like a war zone over the weekend, with several countries, including India, one of Bangladesh’s main allies, issuing travel advisories for Bangladeshi residents.
The UK has advised its citizens to “avoid all but essential travel throughout Bangladesh”, while Germany has warned against travel to the South Asian country, saying “further restrictions and a worsening situation are expected”.
New Delhi said more than 4,500 Indian students had returned home from Bangladesh in the past few days.