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...

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...

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...