BDR carnage trial rife with procedural flaws: HRW

International rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) yesterday termed the BDR carnage trial, which saw the high court sentencing 139 to death and 146 to life imprisonment on Monday, as flawed and said families of the mutiny victims deserve better answers than ‘this mass roundup’.

Families of those killed and injured in the mutiny need justice and closure, but the answer is not through flawed trials,” said HRW Asia Director Brad Adams. “True justice comes only through sound procedures that comply with the rule of law, and the families of the victims deserve better answers than this mass roundup,” he added.

The Bangladesh government should agree to new trials meeting international standards for members of the former Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) accused of mutiny and murder, including 139 whose death sentences were upheld on November 27, 2017, by the High Court, Human Rights Watch said.

On February 25 and 26, 2009, members of the BDR mutinied against their commanding officers at the central Dhaka headquarters, killing 74 people, including 57 army officers.  A number of women relatives of the officers were sexually assaulted. Human Rights Watch research has found that many of the accused were tortured in custody and most were denied access to proper representation.

“We have long said that the atrocities that took place during the mutiny need to be investigated and prosecuted, but this should not be done through unfair mass trials after the use of torture,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “Particularly when the death penalty is involved, expediency cannot take priority over justice.”

The BDR mutiny took place soon after the new Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina won elections in December 2008. Under great pressure from the army and amid fears of a coup, the government responded to the mutiny by rounding up nearly 6,000 members of the BDR.

 Many were tried in mass trials before closed military courts. A separate civilian prosecution team chose to try nearly 850 members of the BDR in a single mass trial in one courtroom. In July 2012, Human Rights Watch released a report, “‘The Fear Never Leaves Me’: Torture, Custodial Deaths, and Unfair Trials after the 2009 Mutiny of the Bangladesh Rifles,” which provided a detailed account of the mutiny and the authorities’ response. Human Rights Watch documented serious abuses by the authorities in the aftermath, including at least 47 custodial deaths and widespread torture of BDR members by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and other security forces.

BDR carnage trial rife with procedural flaws: HRW

International rights watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) yesterday termed the BDR carnage trial, which saw the high court sentencing 139 to death and 146 to life imprisonment on Monday, as flawed and said families of the mutiny victims deserve better answers than this mass roundup. Families of those killed and injured in the mutiny need justice and closure, but the answer is not through flawed trials, said HRW Asia Director Brad Adams. True justice comes only through sound procedures that comply with the rule of law, and the families of the victims deserve better answers than this mass roundup, he added. The Bangladesh government should agree to new trials meeting international standards for members of the former Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) accused of mutiny and murder, including 139 whose death sentences were upheld on November 27, 2017, by the High Court, Human Rights Watch said. On February 25 and 26, 2009, members of the BDR mutinied against their commanding officers at the central Dhaka headquarters, killing 74 people, including 57 army officers. A number of women relatives of the officers were sexually assaulted. Human Rights Watch research has found that many of the accused were tortured in custody and most were denied access to proper representation. We have long said that the atrocities that took place during the mutiny need to be investigated and prosecuted, but this should not be done through unfair mass trials after the use of torture, said Brad Adams, Asia director. Particularly when the death penalty is involved, expediency cannot take priority over justice. The BDR mutiny took place soon after the new Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina won elections in December 2008. Under great pressure from the army and amid fears of a coup, the government responded to the mutiny by rounding up nearly 6,000 members of the BDR. Many were tried in mass trials before closed military courts. A separate civilian prosecution team chose to try nearly 850 members of the BDR in a single mass trial in one courtroom. In July 2012, Human Rights Watch released a report, The Fear Never Leaves Me: Torture, Custodial Deaths, and Unfair Trials after the 2009 Mutiny of the Bangladesh Rifles, which provided a detailed account of the mutiny and the authorities response. Human Rights Watch documented serious abuses by the authorities in the aftermath, including at least 47 custodial deaths and widespread torture of BDR members by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and other security forces.