Bangladesh mutiny: 723 border guards jailed
The mutiny erupted over pay and conditions
A court in Bangladesh has jailed 723 border guards for their role in a bloody mutiny in 2009.
The court said the verdict was the final one in a series of mass trials conducted by the military.Nearly 6,000 people have now been jailed for the mutiny over pay and conditions, which left 74 people dead.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticised the trials, saying a number of suspects died in custody and others were beaten and tortured.
The military has described the HRW claim as baseless, saying that a number of suspects died of heart attacks or other natural causes.
Bodies dumped On Saturday, the military court found the 723 border guards of the former Bangladeshi Rifles (BDR) guilty of "joining and leading the mutiny".
"In all, 735 border guards were charged. Two died during the trial and 10 were acquitted," state prosecutor Gazi Zillur Rahman told the AFP news agency.
"Of the 723 found guilty, 64 soldiers were sentenced to seven years in jail," the prosecutor added.
Officials say that border guards accused of more serious offences - such as murder - were being tried separately and could face the death penalty if convicted.
The mutiny erupted at BDR headquarters in the capital, Dhaka, and lasted 33 hours.
Other BDR units across Bangladesh joined the rebellion, the worst mutiny by the armed forces in the country's history.
Among the dead were at least 57 senior army officers. Their bodies were dumped in sewers or shallow graves.
(Dominic r.)
This kind of proves how there is no international law; the Human Rights Watch may disown the killings, but they cannot do anything about it. Mutinies, brutalities, and torture will continue to be problems in unstable areas.
ReplyDelete(Rachel B)
I agree with Rachel. The Human Rights Watch needs to take responsibility, and they should just own up with what happened. I think it is good that the convicted are in jail, but I think that they should be punished even more. The problems will continue , if no one takes responsibility for what is happening in that country.
ReplyDeleteAlisa Fishel
Rachel pretty much summed it up. If Human Rights Watch doesn't own up and take responsibility, then they are just showing a bad example. All the unlawful acts will keep taking place.
ReplyDelete(addie D)
I agree with Rachel, Alisa, and Addie. If Human Rights Watch doesn't take responsibility for their actions the problems will continue. The Human Rights Watch needs to set an example for what is right so the unlawful acts will not continue (Kylen H.).
ReplyDelete