Expatriates detained in UAE to be released soon: Asif Nazrul

Nothing that 188 of the expatriates detained in the UAE during the July uprising have returned home, Professor Asif Nazrul, adviser to the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, said that the remaining 24 people in the country's prisons will also be released soon.

He shared this information on his verified Facebook page on Friday (November 28) afternoon.

Asif Nazrul wrote: "Our efforts under the leadership of the Chief Adviser have been successful. The 24 people imprisoned in the UAE for participating in the July uprising will be released soon."

He thanked the officials concerned of the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bangladesh Embassy in the UAE. Earlier, 188 expatriates were initially released in September last year at the direct request of the Chief Adviser.

During the July uprising in the United Arab Emirates, three of the 57 people arrested in the first round of protests were sentenced to life imprisonment, 53 to 10 years and one to 11 years. Later, on August 28 last year, Professor Muhammad Yunus, the chief adviser to the interim government, spoke to the country's President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan by telephone. He requested the Bangladeshis to be pardoned, which the Emirates government accepted. After that, the released expatriates started returning to the country from the first week of September.

The Wage Earners Welfare Board under the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment is working to rehabilitate the expatriates who have returned to the country. A grant of Tk 50,000 has already been given to 186 workers.