Bangladeshis involved in UAE riots pardoned

ABU DHABI: The president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has pardoned 57 Bangladeshis who were convicted and sentenced in July to prison for staging protests against their home government in the Gulf state.

They were put on trial on July 21 for the “riots, disruption of public security, obstruction of law enforcement, and endangerment of public and private property” caused by the protests. The court ordered the defendants to be deported upon completion of their terms.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s pardon will “halt the implementation of the prison sentences”. The pardon includes cancelling the sentences of those convicted and arranging for their deportation.

The Attorney General said that the UAE provides lawful means for expressing views and ensures that this right does not turn into actions that could harm the interests of the nation and its people.

He called on all residents of the UAE to respect the country’s laws and stressed that the right to express opinions is protected by the state and its legal framework.

On July 19, thousands of Bangladeshi citizens who live in the UAE carried out the protests in several locations and replicated slogans raised by the students in Bangladesh

On July 20, the UAE launched an investigation into the protests that eventually “confirmed [the defendants’] involvement in gathering in public, inciting unrest, disrupting public security, and promoting such gatherings and protests, including recording and disseminating audiovisual footage of these actions online.”

The public prosecution sought the “maximum penalty” for the defendants.

In a media statement, the Bangladesh embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Bangladesh Consulate General in Dubai said “any kind of assembly, procession or shouting slogans, indulging in any activity that may create unrest, panic or confusion in the public mind, spreading rumor/propaganda, recording video of it or any such message/image/video on social media are strictly prohibited.”