United Arab Emirates - July 2024

On 22 July, the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal sentenced 57 Bangladeshi nationals to long prison terms on charges of unlawful assembly and over inciting riots against the Bangladesh government, despite the protest not being directed at the UAE. Three received life sentences, 53 were sentenced to 10 years, and one received 11 years for an additional crime of illegal entry. The sentences followed protests in the UAE held in solidarity with ongoing demonstrations in Bangladesh against the Bangladeshi government's civil service employment quota system. The Abu Dhabi court ordered the deportation of all individuals after serving their sentences. Bangladeshi nationals are the third-largest group of the UAE’s migrant population, which accounts for 90 per cent of the total. Unauthorized protests are prohibited in the UAE.

Update: On 3 September, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed pardoned the 57 Bangladeshi nationals, following talks with Bangladesh's new interim government. The enforcement of the sentences was suspended, with plans to deport the pardoned individuals to Bangladesh.

Sources: Emirates News Agency (1), Al Jazeera, BBC, International IDEA, Emirates News Agency (2), The National