UAE president pardons Bangladesh citizens jailed for protesting

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed (AFP)
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Updated 03 September 2024
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UAE president pardons Bangladesh citizens jailed for protesting

  • UAE leader pardons 57 Bangladeshis imprisoned for rallying over turmoil back home
  • Al Nahyan's decision cancels the sentences of those convicted and those pardoned will be deported from the UAE

DUBAI: United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has pardoned 57 locally based Bangladeshi nationals who were convicted in July after staging a protest, UAE news agency WAM reported on Tuesday.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed “has ordered a pardon for the Bangladeshi nationals involved in last month’s protests and disturbances across several emirates,” the statement said. 

“The decision includes cancelling the sentences of those convicted and arranging for their deportation.”

The UAE attorney-general has issued an order to halt the implementation of the sentences and commence deportation procedures, WAM said.

 The attorney-general also called on all residents of the UAE to respect the country’s laws, stressing that the right to express opinions is protected by the state and its legal framework.

The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal sentenced 57 Bangladeshi citizens in an expedited trial in July after they had protested against the then-prime minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina and her government amid protests in Bangladesh.

Three Bangladeshi citizens had been sentenced to life in prison, while 53 were sentenced to 10 years in prison. One Bangladeshi, who state media said had entered the UAE illegally and “participated in the riot”, was sentenced to 11 years.

 


Syrian government says it controls prison in Raqqa with Daesh-linked detainees

Updated 23 January 2026
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Syrian government says it controls prison in Raqqa with Daesh-linked detainees

  • Prison holds detainees linked to Daesh, and witnessed ⁠clashes in its vicinity between advancing Syrian government forces and Kurdish fighters

Syria’s Interior Ministry said on Friday it had taken over Al-Aktan prison in the city of Raqqa ​in northeastern Syria, a facility that was formerly under the control of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The prison has been holding detainees linked to the militant group Daesh, and witnessed clashes in its vicinity this week between advancing Syrian government forces and the SDF.

It ‌was not ‌immediately clear how many ‌Daesh ⁠detainees ​remain in Al-Aktan ‌prison as the US military has started transferring up to 7,000 prisoners linked to the militant Islamist group from Syrian jails to neighboring Iraq. US officials say the detainees are citizens of many countries, including in Europe.

“Specialized teams were ⁠formed from the counter-terrorism department and other relevant authorities to ‌take over the tasks of guarding ‍and securing the prison ‍and controlling the security situation inside it,” ‍the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Under a sweeping integration deal agreed on Sunday, responsibility for prisons housing Daesh detainees was meant to be transferred to ​the Syrian government.

The SDF said on Monday it was battling Syrian government forces near ⁠Al-Aktan and that the seizure of the prison by the government forces “could have serious security repercussions that threaten stability and pave the way for a return to chaos and terrorism.”

The US transfer of Daesh prisoners follows the rapid collapse of Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria. Concerns over prison security intensified after the escape on Tuesday of roughly 200 low-level Daesh fighters from Syria’s ‌Shaddadi prison. Syrian government forces later recaptured many of them.