Three Bangladeshis given life sentences and 54 more jailed for inciting riots

Accused convicted for roles in demonstrations against their country's government

Three Bangladeshi citizens were handed life sentences for organising riots in the UAE at the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal. Photo: Wam

Three Bangladeshis were on Monday jailed for life by an Abu Dhabi court for inciting public protests against their government across the UAE.

Another 53 Bangladeshi defendants were jailed for 10 years each and another for 11 years for illegally entering the country to take part in the protests on Friday, state news agency Wam reported.

The sentences were imposed by the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal, which ordered that all of the defendants be deported after serving their time.

The authorities ordered an immediate investigation into the disorder.

The investigation, conducted under the supervision of Attorney General Dr Hamad Al Shamsi, found evidence that the suspects committed crimes of gathering in a public place and protesting against their government with the intent to incite unrest, obstruct the enforcement of laws and regulations, disrupt individual interests, cause harm and danger to others, violate their rights, disrupt traffic, and damage both public and private property.

It also found evidence that the defendants deliberately disrupted transport, called for and incited these demonstrations, and recorded and spread audiovisual files of these acts online – all of which are offences against state security.

Thirty prosecutors were involved in the case.

The court was told that a witness had confirmed that the accused had organised large demonstrations against the policies of the Bangladeshi government.

The demonstrators ignored warnings from UAE law enforcement officers to desist and break up their protest, state news agency Wam said.

A defence lawyer appointed by the court told judges that the suspects did not have criminal intent and argued there was a lack of evidence against them presented by the prosecution.

The court, however, found sufficient evidence of their guilt and convicted them accordingly.

In Bangladesh, more than 150 protesters, mostly students, have been killed in clashes with police since Tuesday.

Violence escalated over demands for the government to cancel a controversial government job quota scheme.