Bangladeshi citizens were sentenced to long prison terms for protesting against unrest in their home country.
The president of the United Arab Emirates has pardoned 57 Bangladeshi citizens jailed for protesting in the Gulf country against their own government.
The decision, announced on Tuesday by President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, “cancels” the sentences of the Bangladeshi citizens, state news agency WAM reported.
They will be released and deported, the report said.
Bangladesh's Sangbad Sangstha news agency, citing a presidential aide, said the 57 are expected to return home soon.
'Arbitrarily sentenced'
Bangladeshi expatriates were accused of joining protests in the United Arab Emirates that mirrored mass demonstrations against then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government in her home country.
A federal court in the United Arab Emirates, which bans unauthorized protests, quickly convicted the Bangladeshis in July for “gathering and inciting unrest.”
The prosecution had charged them with “crimes of gathering in a public place and protesting against their local government with the intent to incite unrest.”
Three people were sentenced to life imprisonment and 53 to 10 years in prison. A Bangladeshi citizen, who according to state media had illegally entered the UAE and “participated in the riots”, was sentenced to 11 years.
Human Rights Watch described them as “arbitrarily detained, convicted and sentenced to long prison terms… for their participation in peaceful protests.”
Sheikh Mohammed's decision to pardon the prisoners comes less than a week after he spoke with Bangladesh's new interim leader, Muhammad Yunus, who took over after Hasina was ousted from power and fled to India amid protests last month.
The unrest in Bangladesh began in June with student-led protests against quotas for civil service jobs, and led to mass demonstrations demanding the resignation of Hasina, who had been in power since 2009.
Bangladeshis make up the third-largest group of expatriates in the country, after Pakistanis and Indians, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
The majority of the country's population of around 10 million people are foreign residents.
Many Bangladeshis in the UAE work in low-paid manual jobs and send remittances home to help support their families.
The UAE has little tolerance for dissent, banning criticism of the government or speech seen to cause or encourage social unrest. Freedom of expression is restricted.
The country's penal code also makes it a crime to offend foreign states or endanger relations with them.
