The Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry has been continuing all legal and diplomatic efforts to free 25 Bangladeshis languishing in prisons in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
An official handout in Bangladesh on Thursday said, Bangladesh's envoy in the UAE, Tareq Ahmed, held formal and informal meetings with the high-ups of the foreign ministry of the Gulf country and discussed the matter, and sought their support for the release of the expatriate workers.
The handout noted that due to the efforts made by the Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, the UAE government earlier released 188 Bangladeshis from prison.
All of the expatriate Bangladeshis were arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at different times during the July Uprising in Bangladesh in 2024.
Bangladesh envoy submitted a list of 25 Bangladeshis and all previous communications for their release to UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on August 7 last.
The initiative for their release was first taken on April 22 in 2025.
Bangladesh later sent a verbal note to the embassy on July 1 last seeking consular access.
The government appointed a law firm on July 8 last to expedite the process of their release.
The law firm in mid-August informed Bangladesh that the release of the Bangladeshi expatriates from the UAE jail will require time for their release, as they have to follow some state formalities, as they were detained in cases related to state security.
Adviser to Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment ministries Dr Asif Nazrul, on September 21, 2025, sent a letter to the UAE Minister of Justice, Abdullah bin Sultan bin Awad Al Nuaimi, requesting the release.
In continuation, the foreign ministry of the UAE sought copies of passports and visa numbers of the detained persons from the Bangladesh embassy.
Accordingly, all that information was submitted to the UAE foreign ministry in a note verbal on September 30, 2025, the handout said.
