Dubai court clears eight men for threatening workers over move to Sharjah

DUBAI // Eight men who opposed their company’s plans to move them to new accommodation in Sharjah have been cleared of threatening fellow workers.

The four Pakistanis, two Bangladeshis and two Indians, aged between 20 and 32, were found not guilty of issuing threats and theft charges. They denied the charges when they appeared in court last month. Prosecutors said their employer had decided to move all of its staff from Al Muhaisnah in Dubai to new accommodation in Al Sajaa, Sharjah, a move the eight men were against.

On March 6, as the firm’s other workers were preparing to move and packed their belongings, the defendants threatened their colleagues, ordering them not to go to the new location or else they would be attacked.

“We were sitting waiting for the move when they came and one was holding a knife. We agreed to what they wanted out of fear and when they fell asleep we got out of the accommodation and called the company’s owner,” said a 24-year-old Indian.

The eight men were cleared of all charges by the Dubai Criminal Court.