The United Arab Emirates has imprisoned over 50 Bangladeshis, three of whom have been given life sentences, for protesting against the government of their home country.

On Monday, the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal handed out the three life sentences, as well as 10-year prison terms for 53 others, for participating in demonstrations. 

Those convicted will be deported to Bangladesh at the end of their sentences, according to Emirati news agency WAM...

Videos emerged on Friday of scores of protesters in the UAE, including in Dubai, rallying against Bangladesh's government. Dozens of Bangladeshi nationals were immediately arrested. 

Unauthorised protests are banned in UAE, a country where freedom of expression is severely restricted. 

The Emirates' attorney general ordered an immediate investigation into the protests on Friday...

"This just shows how quick the UAE authorities are to stamp on any form of freedom of expression," James Lynch, co-founder of Fair Square, which campaigns for workers' rights in the Gulf, told Middle East Eye.

He said that all speech was cracked down on, whether it was concerned with UAE domestic politics, foreign policy issues related to the Emirates, like on Israel and Palestine, or issues where the UAE's role was not significant, like in Bangladesh. 

"Simply the idea of protest, of criticism and dissent, [is] discouraged," said Lynch. "Migrant workers are heavily restricted from expressing themselves in any form."

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