JanguKamaJangu
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 7, 2022
- 2,780
- 6,607
Mahakama katika Umoja wa Falme za Kiarabu imewapa raia 57 wa Bangladesh kifungo cha muda mrefu kwa kufanya maandamano katika jimbo la Ghuba dhidi ya serikali ya nchi yao.
Washtakiwa watatu kati ya hao ambao hawakutajwa majina walihukumiwa kifungo cha maisha kwa "kuchochea ghasia katika mitaa kadhaa katika UAE siku ya Ijumaa", huku wengine 53 wakifungwa jela miaka 10 na mmoja miaka 11, shirika la habari la serikali la Wam liliripoti.
Ilimtaja wakili wao wa utetezi aliyeteuliwa na mahakama akisema wakati wa kesi ya Jumapili kwamba mikusanyiko haikuwa na nia ya jinai na kwamba ushahidi haukutosha.
Amnesty International ililaani kile ilichokiita "majibu makubwa ya UAE kwa kuwepo kwa maandamano ya umma" kwenye ardhi yake.
Maandamano ni kinyume cha sheria katika UAE, ambapo wageni ni karibu 90% ya idadi ya watu. Bangladeshi ni kundi la tatu kubwa la wataalam kutoka nje.
Nchini Bangladesh, zaidi ya watu 150 wameuawa na 500 kukamatwa wakati wa siku za ghasia zilizosababishwa na maandamano yaliyoongozwa na wanafunzi kupinga upendeleo wa nafasi za kazi serikalini.
Siku ya Jumatatu baadhi ya viongozi wa maandamano waliipa serikali muda wa saa 48 kuondoa amri ya kutotoka nje nchini kote na kurejesha huduma za mtandao. Pia wanataka kujiuzulu kwa maafisa wanaowalaumu kwa ghasia dhidi ya waandamanaji.
Machafuko hayo ni miongoni mwa changamoto kubwa zaidi ambazo Sheikh Hasina amekabiliana nazo katika miaka 15 mfululizo akiwa waziri mkuu wa nchi hiyo.
Kulingana na Wam, kesi ya watu 57 wa Bangladeshi ilisikia kwamba "waliandaa maandamano makubwa katika mitaa kadhaa ya UAE kupinga maamuzi yaliyotolewa na serikali ya Bangladesh".
"Hii ilisababisha ghasia, kuvurugika kwa usalama wa umma, kuzuiwa kwa utekelezaji wa sheria, na kuhatarisha mali ya umma na ya kibinafsi," ilisema. "Polisi walikuwa wamewaonya waandamanaji, na kuwaamuru kutawanyika, na hawakuitikia".
Mahakama ilikataa utetezi wa washtakiwa na kuamuru wafurushwe nchini baada ya kutumikia vifungo vyao, Wam alisema.
Hakukuwa na maoni ya mara moja kutoka kwa serikali ya Bangladesh. Lakini ubalozi wake mdogo huko Dubai ulitaka raia kuheshimu sheria za mitaa katika chapisho la mtandao wa kijamii siku ya Jumapili.
Mtafiti wa Amnesty International wa UAE, Devin Kenney, alisema ni kesi ya pili ya umati katika UAE mwezi huu, ambapo watu kadhaa wamehukumiwa "vifungo vikubwa gerezani kwa usiku mmoja, kwa mashtaka yasiyohusisha chochote cha vurugu".
"[Mtazamo] uliokithiri wa kuwepo kwa maandamano ya umma katika ardhi ya Imarati unaonyesha kwamba serikali inaweka kipaumbele kikubwa katika kukandamiza udhihirisho wowote wa upinzani nchini," aliliambia shirika la habari la AFP.
Mnamo tarehe 10 Julai, mahakama katika UAE ilitoa hukumu ya kifungo cha maisha jela kwa watetezi 43 wa haki za binadamu na wapinzani wa kisiasa ambao walipatikana na hatia ya "kuunda shirika la kigaidi".
Mashirika ya haki za binadamu yalisema shirika hilo lilikuwa "kundi linalojitegemea la utetezi" na kukosoa vikali kesi hiyo ya watu wengi kama "dhihaka ya haki".
===
UAE jails 57 Bangladeshis over protests against own government
A court in the United Arab Emirates has handed 57 Bangladeshis long prison terms for holding protests in the Gulf state against their own country’s government.
Three of the unnamed defendants were sentenced to life for “inciting riots in several streets across the UAE on Friday”, while 53 others were jailed for 10 years and one for 11 years, state-run Wam news agency reported.
It cited their court-appointed defence lawyer as arguing during Sunday’s trial that the gatherings had no criminal intent and that the evidence was insufficient.
Amnesty International condemned what it called the UAE’s “extreme reaction to the mere existence of a public protest” on its soil.
Protests are effectively illegal in the UAE, where foreigners make up almost 90% of the population. Bangladeshis are the third largest expatriate group.
In Bangladesh, more than 150 people have been killed and 500 arrested during days of violence sparked by student-led demonstrations against quotas on government jobs.
On Monday some of the protest leaders gave the government a 48-hour ultimatum to lift a nationwide curfew and restore internet services. They are also demanding the resignation of officials they blame for violence against demonstrators.
The unrest is among the most serious challenges Sheikh Hasina has faced in 15 consecutive years as the country’s prime minister.
According to Wam, the trial of the 57 Bangladeshis heard that they had “organised large-scale marches in several streets of the UAE in protest against decisions made by the Bangladeshi government”.
“This led to riots, disruption of public security, obstruction of law enforcement, and endangerment of public and private property,” it said. “The police had warned the protesters, ordering them to disperse, to which they were unresponsive”.
The court rejected the defendants’ defence and ordered that they be deported after serving their sentences, Wam said.
There was no immediate comment from Bangladesh’s government. But its consulate in Dubai urged citizens to respect local laws in a social media post on Sunday.
Amnesty International’s UAE researcher, Devin Kenney, said it was the second mass trial in the UAE this month, in which dozens of people had been sentenced to “huge prison terms literally overnight, on charges involving no element of violence”.
“[The] extreme reaction to the mere existence of a public protest on Emirati soil shows that the state places great priority on suppressing any manifestation of dissent in the country," he told AFP news agency.
On 10 July, a court in the UAE handed life sentences to 43 human rights defenders and political dissidents who were convicted of “creating a terrorist organisation”.
Human rights groups said the organisation had been an “independent advocacy group” and severely criticised the mass trial as a “mockery of justice”.
Washtakiwa watatu kati ya hao ambao hawakutajwa majina walihukumiwa kifungo cha maisha kwa "kuchochea ghasia katika mitaa kadhaa katika UAE siku ya Ijumaa", huku wengine 53 wakifungwa jela miaka 10 na mmoja miaka 11, shirika la habari la serikali la Wam liliripoti.
Ilimtaja wakili wao wa utetezi aliyeteuliwa na mahakama akisema wakati wa kesi ya Jumapili kwamba mikusanyiko haikuwa na nia ya jinai na kwamba ushahidi haukutosha.
Amnesty International ililaani kile ilichokiita "majibu makubwa ya UAE kwa kuwepo kwa maandamano ya umma" kwenye ardhi yake.
Maandamano ni kinyume cha sheria katika UAE, ambapo wageni ni karibu 90% ya idadi ya watu. Bangladeshi ni kundi la tatu kubwa la wataalam kutoka nje.
Nchini Bangladesh, zaidi ya watu 150 wameuawa na 500 kukamatwa wakati wa siku za ghasia zilizosababishwa na maandamano yaliyoongozwa na wanafunzi kupinga upendeleo wa nafasi za kazi serikalini.
Siku ya Jumatatu baadhi ya viongozi wa maandamano waliipa serikali muda wa saa 48 kuondoa amri ya kutotoka nje nchini kote na kurejesha huduma za mtandao. Pia wanataka kujiuzulu kwa maafisa wanaowalaumu kwa ghasia dhidi ya waandamanaji.
Machafuko hayo ni miongoni mwa changamoto kubwa zaidi ambazo Sheikh Hasina amekabiliana nazo katika miaka 15 mfululizo akiwa waziri mkuu wa nchi hiyo.
Kulingana na Wam, kesi ya watu 57 wa Bangladeshi ilisikia kwamba "waliandaa maandamano makubwa katika mitaa kadhaa ya UAE kupinga maamuzi yaliyotolewa na serikali ya Bangladesh".
"Hii ilisababisha ghasia, kuvurugika kwa usalama wa umma, kuzuiwa kwa utekelezaji wa sheria, na kuhatarisha mali ya umma na ya kibinafsi," ilisema. "Polisi walikuwa wamewaonya waandamanaji, na kuwaamuru kutawanyika, na hawakuitikia".
Mahakama ilikataa utetezi wa washtakiwa na kuamuru wafurushwe nchini baada ya kutumikia vifungo vyao, Wam alisema.
Hakukuwa na maoni ya mara moja kutoka kwa serikali ya Bangladesh. Lakini ubalozi wake mdogo huko Dubai ulitaka raia kuheshimu sheria za mitaa katika chapisho la mtandao wa kijamii siku ya Jumapili.
Mtafiti wa Amnesty International wa UAE, Devin Kenney, alisema ni kesi ya pili ya umati katika UAE mwezi huu, ambapo watu kadhaa wamehukumiwa "vifungo vikubwa gerezani kwa usiku mmoja, kwa mashtaka yasiyohusisha chochote cha vurugu".
"[Mtazamo] uliokithiri wa kuwepo kwa maandamano ya umma katika ardhi ya Imarati unaonyesha kwamba serikali inaweka kipaumbele kikubwa katika kukandamiza udhihirisho wowote wa upinzani nchini," aliliambia shirika la habari la AFP.
Mnamo tarehe 10 Julai, mahakama katika UAE ilitoa hukumu ya kifungo cha maisha jela kwa watetezi 43 wa haki za binadamu na wapinzani wa kisiasa ambao walipatikana na hatia ya "kuunda shirika la kigaidi".
Mashirika ya haki za binadamu yalisema shirika hilo lilikuwa "kundi linalojitegemea la utetezi" na kukosoa vikali kesi hiyo ya watu wengi kama "dhihaka ya haki".
===
UAE jails 57 Bangladeshis over protests against own government
A court in the United Arab Emirates has handed 57 Bangladeshis long prison terms for holding protests in the Gulf state against their own country’s government.
Three of the unnamed defendants were sentenced to life for “inciting riots in several streets across the UAE on Friday”, while 53 others were jailed for 10 years and one for 11 years, state-run Wam news agency reported.
It cited their court-appointed defence lawyer as arguing during Sunday’s trial that the gatherings had no criminal intent and that the evidence was insufficient.
Amnesty International condemned what it called the UAE’s “extreme reaction to the mere existence of a public protest” on its soil.
Protests are effectively illegal in the UAE, where foreigners make up almost 90% of the population. Bangladeshis are the third largest expatriate group.
In Bangladesh, more than 150 people have been killed and 500 arrested during days of violence sparked by student-led demonstrations against quotas on government jobs.
On Monday some of the protest leaders gave the government a 48-hour ultimatum to lift a nationwide curfew and restore internet services. They are also demanding the resignation of officials they blame for violence against demonstrators.
The unrest is among the most serious challenges Sheikh Hasina has faced in 15 consecutive years as the country’s prime minister.
According to Wam, the trial of the 57 Bangladeshis heard that they had “organised large-scale marches in several streets of the UAE in protest against decisions made by the Bangladeshi government”.
“This led to riots, disruption of public security, obstruction of law enforcement, and endangerment of public and private property,” it said. “The police had warned the protesters, ordering them to disperse, to which they were unresponsive”.
The court rejected the defendants’ defence and ordered that they be deported after serving their sentences, Wam said.
There was no immediate comment from Bangladesh’s government. But its consulate in Dubai urged citizens to respect local laws in a social media post on Sunday.
Amnesty International’s UAE researcher, Devin Kenney, said it was the second mass trial in the UAE this month, in which dozens of people had been sentenced to “huge prison terms literally overnight, on charges involving no element of violence”.
“[The] extreme reaction to the mere existence of a public protest on Emirati soil shows that the state places great priority on suppressing any manifestation of dissent in the country," he told AFP news agency.
On 10 July, a court in the UAE handed life sentences to 43 human rights defenders and political dissidents who were convicted of “creating a terrorist organisation”.
Human rights groups said the organisation had been an “independent advocacy group” and severely criticised the mass trial as a “mockery of justice”.
