Ibrahim Al-Khazen / Anatolia
An Emirati court decided to try 57 defendants of Bangladeshi nationality in what is known in the media as the “hoarding case” after they were referred to an urgent trial on Friday after they committed “acts that violate the law”.
As reported by the Emirates News Agency on Monday, “The Federal Court of Appeal in Abu Dhabi decided to sentence 57 defendants of Bangladeshi nationality on Sunday in what is known in the media as the ‘collection case’.”
The court “sentenced three defendants to life imprisonment for calling and inciting demonstrations with the aim of putting pressure on the government of their country, and sentenced 53 others to 10 years in prison, and sentenced one defendant to 11 years in prison for entering the country illegally. attend the meeting yours”.
The same court also ruled that “after the completion of the sentence, all the sentences will be expelled from the state and the seized devices confiscated.”
According to WAM, the investigations carried out by 30 investigators from members of the Public Prosecutor’s Office revealed that “the organization of gatherings and riots in a public place in various emirates of the country with the intention of disrupting public security, rioting and inciting. and encouraging these gatherings and marches, and recording video and audio clips and posting them on the Internet to expand
According to the agency, “several defendants confessed to having committed the crimes they were accused of, and during the trial, which was echoed by the media, the Prosecutor’s Office asked for the maximum sentence to be imposed on the defendants.”
The Emirati Court heard the testimony of the Prosecution, which confirmed that “the defendants gathered and organized numerous marches in various streets of the country, against the decisions taken by the Government of Bangladesh, which caused riots and disrupted public security”. “The police warned the crowd to disperse and leave if they did not respond to this alert.”
The defense lawyer, who was appointed by the court to defend the accused, argued that there was no criminal intent in that collection and that there was insufficient evidence for the prosecution, asking for the accused to be acquitted of the charges because there is sufficient evidence to convict them of those crimes, according to WAM.
UAE Attorney General Hamad Al Shamsi issued the ruling on Saturday, “after ordering the immediate investigation and remand of the Bangladeshi nationals who gathered and rioted in various streets of the country on Friday and send them to an urgent trial,” WAM reported at the time.
On Sunday, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said through his verified account on the X platform: “More than 200 nationalities live among us in the UAE, and their members help us in the development of this nation.”
He added that “tolerance, coexistence, respect for the law and maintaining safety and security are solid foundations for our society”, and he expressed his wish that “they will be fulfilled by all who consider the Emirates as their homeland”.
The “gathering” in Bangladesh comes as the Emirates are seeing anti-government protests in their home country, Bangladesh, over what protesters say is “a flaw in the public works system and cuts to government loyalists”.
