UAE pardons 57 Bangladeshis sentenced for protests

President Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has pardoned 57 Bangladeshi nationals who were serving prison sentences in the United Arab Emirates. 

Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus announced this during a meeting on Tuesday (September 3) morning, according to a statement from the Chief Adviser's press wing.

The pardoned individuals will be repatriated to Bangladesh soon.

These Bangladeshis were sentenced to various prison terms by a UAE court for participating in protests in support of the quota reform movement. Three were sentenced to life imprisonment, 53 received 10-year sentences, and one was sentenced to 11 years.

The defendants organised large-scale marches in several streets of the UAE “in protest against decisions made by the Sheikh Hasina government”, it added.

Unauthorised protests are prohibited in the UAE. The country’s penal code also criminalises offending foreign states or jeopardising ties with them.