Eleven Bangladeshis Deported After Fight

minivan
Eleven Bangladeshis were deported on 12 September after being kept in police custody for nearly a month on assault charges, the Department of Immigration has confirmed.

The department said a total of twelve Bangladeshi nationals were set to be deported after attacking and injuring two Maldivian co-workers in Shaviyani atoll Dholhiyadhoo, an island where a resort is under construction.

But the High Commission of Bangladesh said it had not been informed of the deportations, whilst it remains unclear whether the men were ever tried over the alleged assault.

Police said the fight occurred on 18 August and has been investigated. The case was sent to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), but no agency could confirm whether a trial took place before the men were deported.

The Bangladeshis were deported after “physically assaulting Maldivians,” Rashida, a spokesperson for the Department of Immigration, said.

She added “a total of twelve Bangladeshis” attacked Maldivian co-workers employed by a contractor developing a resort on the island of Dholhiyadhoo.

Sergeant Shiyam, police media coordinator, said the incident occurred on 18 August.

“Four people were taken to the hospital…. Two Maldivians and two Bangladeshis. There were no serious injuries,” he said.

Eleven of the twelve were deported on Friday morning, Immigration confirmed. They have been barred from the country for ten years.

The final man to be deported remains in police custody.

The department is waiting “to get documents for the other” before he is also deported, Rashida said. “We should have the documents by tomorrow,” she added.

Deputy director at the AGO Hussein Shameem said it was “possible” the men were deported before a trial was held. “The Immigration Act allows this to happen,” he said.

The Bangladesh High Commission to the Maldives said they were unaware these men had been deported.

“We don’t have any idea. We haven’t been informed by the police or the foreign ministry,” a spokesperson said.

Immigration said it is the responsibility of the foreign ministry to inform the Bangladesh High Commission.

There are over 30,000 thousand Bangladeshi workers in the Maldives, employed primarily in the construction and tourism industries, and domestic service.

Most of their earnings, often less than a $100 a month, are remitted back to Bangladesh, and interaction with Maldivian society is minimal.

The Bangladeshi government requires emigrant workers to be attached to a licensed agency. But the Maldives government does not require immigrant workers to meet the same conditions.