UAE: Shockingly harsh prison sentences against Bengali workers over peaceful protests reinforce environment of repression

Geneva – The sharp decline in the human rights situation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Emirati government’s cultivation of a climate of repression is gravely concerning. Euro-Med Monitor condemns the government’s violations of fundamental rights, such as the freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly.

In a swift and shocking decision just three days after their arrest, an Emirati court condemned 57 workers of Bangladeshi nationality to prison terms ranging from 10 years to life, with no provision for a fair trial or the right to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of their defence.

According to the state-owned Emirates News Agency, WAM, the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal sentenced, on Monday 22 July 2022, three of the accused to life imprisonment for calling for demonstrations and inciting riots to pressure their own home government. Another 53 defendants received 10-year prison terms, with one, who entered the country illegally and participated in the riot, being sentenced to 11 years.

The Court also ordered their deportation at the end of their prison terms and the confiscation of all seized devices.

WAM reported two days ago that UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi ordered “an immediate investigation into the arrested Bangladeshi nationals who gathered and incited riots in several streets across the UAE” on crimes “of gathering in a public place and protesting against their home government with the intent to incite unrest, and obstruct the enforcement of laws and regulations”.

The crimes also included “deliberately disrupting transportation, calling for and inciting these demonstrations, and recording and disseminating audiovisual footage of these acts online, which constitute offences against state security and public order, and jeopardise the UAE’s interests”.

The UAE Attorney-General directed that the suspects be referred to an expedited trial, threatening people residing in the country “to adhere to its laws and refrain from engaging in planning and carrying out such activities, as they constitute serious crimes with a severe impact on the community, with harsh penalties for the perpetrators”.

The Bengali workers’ protests in the UAE coincided with large demonstrations in their country against the quota system for public-sector jobs, which gives veterans’ relatives up to 30% of government jobs. The number of Bangladeshi workers detained as a result of the protest was not disclosed in the statement released by the UAE Attorney General.

A Bangladeshi worker who took part in the demonstrations and managed to avoid arrest told the Euro-Med Monitor team in a phone conversation that they had been informed about the arrest of “at least dozens of workers” during the protests, which “took place spontaneously and in several areas”. The worker also added that while some of the arrested people were released, the rest were kept in detention, pending investigations. “However, no information was provided to their families about their detention centres,” stated the worker.

The UAE authorities persist in depriving immigrants living within its borders, who make up approximately 86% of the nation’s population and are predominantly from South Asian nations, of fundamental rights. These rights include the freedom of peaceful assembly, and freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join unions`, protest, as well as to file a lawsuit against decisions regarding arrest and deportation on an individual or collective basis, and even hire legal representation and interpretation services.

The UAE authorities use a set of arbitrary laws that forbid peaceful protests in addition to criticism of the ruling authorities and public performances, considering such acts to be incitement of social unrest. They also criminalise any criticism of foreign nations that they believe could jeopardise diplomatic ties.

The UAE authorities continue to subject migrant workers to the exploitative and restrictive system known as Kafala, which has resulted in numerous documented violations. In light of the ongoing lack of recognition of a number of workers’ rights, including the freedom of organisation and collective bargaining, as well as the rights of certain trade unions, the recent announcement of several successive reforms is inadequate and lacks implementation on the ground.

Anwar Gargash, a former minister of foreign affairs and advisor to the president of the UAE, has defended the arrest and prosecution of the Bengali workers, saying that “it came within a legal context to preserve our model and not allow the problems and issues of other countries to be exported to our society”.

The arbitrary arrest and the sentences violate the right to peaceful protest and public expression of opinion, whether through protests or other peaceful means. The case involving the Bengali workers cannot be separated from the recent harsh rulings that found 53 Emirati citizens guilty in a mass trial for expressing their opinions and calling for basic and political rights in the state. Those convicted included academics, opinion activists, and human rights defenders.

These rulings, which were issued following secret trials that violated the international law standards of fair trial—such as barring the defendants’ attorneys from freely accessing case files and court documents—seem to have been made with the intention of undermining the ability to mount asufficient legal defense, and in the wake of prisoners of conscience being kept in detention after serving their full prison sentences. This wasplainly the case in the “UAE 84” trial.

While hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in December 2023, UAE authorities retried at least 84 individuals, most of whom had been unlawfully detained after serving their sentences.

The Emirati authorities released a statement on 6 January 2024 asserting that the 84 activists were “creating and managing a secret terrorist organisation, called the Dignity and Justice Committee”. They also mentioned that the Emirati Anti-Terrorism Law of 2014 penalises individuals who found, organise, or oversee similar organisations, condemning them to life imprisonment or even death.

WAM reported on 10 July 2024 that the Abu Dhabi Federal Appeals Court’s State Security Departmentconvicted 53 defendants, comprising leaders and members of the Muslim Brotherhood organisation, and six companies, in Case No. 87 of 2023. State Security Offenses, known in the state media as the “terrorist Justice and Dignity Committee”organisation, imposed penalties ranging from life imprisonment to a fine of AED 20 million.

According to WAM, the Court sentenced 43 of theaforementioned defendants to life imprisonment for the crime of creating, establishing, and managing the terrorist “Justice and Dignity Committee”organisation for the purpose of committing terrorist acts in the UAE. It sentenced five defendants to 15 years in prison for cooperating with the “Reform Call” organisation and advocating for it in articles and tweets posted on social media platforms, with prior knowledge of its purpose to take action against the country.

The Court also handed another five defendants a 10-year imprisonment sentence each, plus a fine of AED 10 million each, for laundering money that was obtained for the crimes of creating, establishing, and financing a terrorist organisation.

Furthermore, the Court ruled in favour of imposing penalties on six companies and those responsible for them by fining each of them AED 20 million, as well as dissolving and closing the headquarters of said companies, confiscating their assets, their tangible and intangible property rights, funds, real estate and facades, and confiscating all materials, equipment, and belongings obtained and used in the commission of the crimes. According to the Court, the crimes include money laundering committed by an organised criminal group, and the laundering of proceeds to finance a terrorist organisation.

The UAE has a long history of imprisoning individuals based on their political backgrounds and disregarding their right to freedom of speech or opinion, all the while refusing to discuss or answer questions about these matters from human rights organisations.

The UAE authorities—especially the State Security Service—are constantly committing serious human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests; torture and enforced disappearance; restricting freedom of opinion, expression, and peaceful assembly; and detaining government critics or those who address issues that the authorities do not support, in cruel circumstances.

The Emirati authorities should immediately release the Bengali workers and cancel their sentences, as well as end the conditions of repression and intimidation imposed on both citizens and foreign residents in the United Arab Emirates. Emirati authorities must also swiftly and unconditionally release all human rights defenders and individuals who have been detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression and opinion; cease the illegal prosecution of these people in accordance with their obligations under the local constitution and pertinent international agreements; and repeal any laws that violate human rights laws.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor is a Geneva-based independent organization with regional offices across the MENA region and Europe