Dozens of Bangladeshi expats jailed for protesting in UAE

Fifty-seven Bangladeshi expats were jailed for protesting against their home government in the United Arab Emirates – state media reported Monday.

Three were sentenced to life, 53 others to 10 years in prison and one to 11 years for organizing and participating in rallies across the UAE, despite demonstrations being banned in the gulf country.

The UAE’s attorney general’s office indicted Saturday the protestors on several charges, including “gathering in a public place and protesting against their home government with the intent to incite unrest,” obstructing law enforcement, causing harm to others and damaging property, according to the official Emirati news agency WAM.

Weeks of deadly unrest have been sweeping Bangladesh, as demonstrators protest a quote system that reserved up to 30 percent of government jobs for the relatives of veterans who fought in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

The movement is spearheaded by the students of public and private universities, and swelled after the government brutally killed over a hundred protestors.