A court in the United Arab Emirates has sentenced dozens of Bangladeshi nationals, including three to life imprisonment, over protests against their home government in the Gulf country. The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal handed 10-year prison sentences to 53 Bangladeshi nationals and an 11-year term to another individual, in addition to the three life imprisonments. Following their prison terms, the court ordered the deportation of the Bangladeshis from the UAE.
The state-owned Emirates News Agency, WAM, reported that a witness confirmed the defendants gathered and organized large-scale marches in several streets of the UAE to protest decisions made by the Bangladeshi government. Authorities in the UAE had ordered an investigation and an expedited trial of the arrested Bangladeshi nationals.
