Uphold BDR carnage case death sentences

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam yesterday prayed to the High Court to uphold the lower court verdict that sentenced 152 persons to death for killing 74 people including 57 army officials in the 2009 Pilkhana mutiny.

The court rightly convicted them and passed the sentence after properly examining relevant documents, evidence and witnesses' statements, he told the HC while finishing arguments on the carnage case's death reference.

The HC bench of Justice Md Shawkat Hossain, Justice Abu Zafor Siddique and Justice Nazrul Islam Talukder fixed today for resuming hearing for the 141st day.

Defence lawyers will now start placing arguments, Deputy Attorney General AKM Zahid Sarwar Kazal told The Daily Star.

Afterwards, the HC will hold hearing on the appeals filed individually and collectively by 567 convicts, he said.

The killings occurred during the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) mutiny on February 25-26, 2009 at the force's Pilkhana headquarters in Dhaka.

In November 2013, a Dhaka court sentenced 150 soldiers of BDR, now Border Guard Bangladesh, and two civilians to death, and jailed 161 for life for their involvement.

It also gave rigorous imprisonment, ranging from three to 10 years, to 256, mostly BDR soldiers. The remaining 277 were acquitted.

A total of 844 people, 823 of them BDR personnel, stood trial in Bangladesh's biggest criminal case in terms of the number of accused and convicts.