The United Arab Emirates handed out prison sentences to at least 57 Bangladeshi nationals residing in the country for their alleged involvement in demonstrations protesting their home government, according to Emirati state news agency WAM.
Last week, the demonstrators took to the streets in support of domestic student protesters who are pressing Dhaka to abandon its contentious quota system, which reserves 30% of all government jobs for the relatives of veterans of Bangladesh’s 1971 War of Independence.
After calling for an immediate investigation into the demonstrations on Friday, UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al-Shamsi indicted protesters one day later on charges of “gathering in a public place and protesting against their home government with the intent to incite unrest,” property destruction, and obstruction of law enforcement, according to WAM.
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Emirati authorities took the defendants into pre-trial custody on orders from the Attorney General’s office after issuing the indictments.
The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal announced Monday that three of the 57 defendants would receive life sentences in prison, while 53 others received ten-year sentences following an expedited trial.
One other individual was sentenced to 11 years for illegally migrating to the Gulf country as well.
Bangladesh has the third largest number of nationals living in the UAE, many of whom work low-paid, high-risk jobs to send remittances back to their families in South Asia. Given the UAE’s weak labor protection laws for migrants, these expatriate groups are often subject to abuse and exploitation.