UAE pardons 25 more Bangladeshis convicted over July protests
The pardon was granted following a request from Bangladesh
United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has pardoned 25 Bangladeshi citizens who were previously convicted for demonstrating in the Arab country during the July Uprising in Bangladesh.
The pardon was granted following a request from Bangladesh, seeking clemency for Bangladeshi nationals arrested and sentenced by UAE courts, said a press release by the UAE Embassy in Dhaka today (11 January).
According to the release, all 25 individuals have been pardoned and returned to Bangladesh.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The expatriate Bangladeshis were detained at different times in the UAE during the July 2024 uprising in Bangladesh.
"This humanitarian gesture reflects the UAE leadership's commitment to compassion, tolerance, and justice, as well as the deep-rooted, brotherly relations between the United Arab Emirates and the People's Republic of Bangladesh," said the release.
Earlier, the UAE president had also pardoned Bangladeshi expatriates in several times who were serving sentences for staging a rare protest in the UAE.
The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms, is populated mostly by expatriates, many of them south Asians who work as labourers.
Bangladeshis form the third largest expatriate group in the UAE, after Pakistanis and Indians, according to the UAE foreign ministry.
The oil-rich Gulf state bans unauthorised protests and prohibits criticism of rulers or speech that is deemed to create or encourage social unrest.
Defamation, as well as verbal and written insults, whether published or made in private, are punishable by law. The country's penal code also criminalises offending foreign states or jeopardising ties with them.
