Several Bangladeshi nationals arrested for protesting in UAE

Several Bangladeshi expatriates were detained in the UAE on Saturday for taking part in protests against their government back home on UAE soil, where demonstrations are banned.

The number of those arrested was not specified in the statement released by the country's public prosecutor's office, cited by the state news agency WAM.

The statement said the individuals had "committed crimes of gathering in a public place and protesting against their home government with the intent to incite unrest".

"The public prosecution has ordered their pre-trial detention pending further investigations," the statement added, accusing the suspects of "endangering" the interests and security of the UAE and disrupting public order.

It did not specify when or where the alleged protests took place or how many were suspected of taking part.

It came as protests swept Bangladesh this month against a quota system for civil service jobs that many say benefit the supporters of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's 15 years of autocratic rule.

The near-daily marches escalated this week into civil unrest which left more than 120 people dead.

The unrest poses a monumental challenge to its 76-year-old prime minister, who has ruled the country since 2009 and won her fourth consecutive election in January after a vote without genuine opposition.

The UAE, an autocratic 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.