DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have ordered an investigation and speedy trial of a Bangladeshi national arrested after protesting against his government in the Gulf state, state media reported.
The protests came as demonstrations swept across the South Asian country weeks ago against a quota system that reserves up to 30 percent of government jobs for relatives of veterans of Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence.
The country’s highest court on Sunday rolled back the controversial system, handing a partial victory to student protesters.
The UAE’s public prosecutor’s office on Saturday charged the Bangladeshi protesters with several offences, including “gathering in a public place and protesting against their government with the intent to incite disturbance”, obstructing law enforcement, causing harm to others and damaging property, according to the state-run Emirates News Agency WAM.
“Based on the results of the preliminary investigation, the prosecutor ordered the defendants to be held in pre-trial detention pending further investigation,” WAM reported.
Political parties and trade unions are banned in the seven-emirate federation, broad laws severely restrict freedom of speech and nearly all major domestic media outlets are state-run or state-controlled.
Michael Wakin, The Associated Press