BDR trial resumes in Rangamati
December 27, 2009
Trial of accused BDR mutineers in Rangamati resumed on Sunday after a recess of more than one month.
The hearing started at around 3pm at the special court at the border force’s Rangamati headquarters with BDR director general Maj Gen Mainul Islam in the chair.
Charges are due to be framed against nine border guards of the 12th Rifles Battalion, accused of rebellion during the February mutiny.
Tight security measures have been taken at the Special Court No 4, set up especially for the trial.
Rangamati began the first of the BDR mutiny trials on Nov 24 and adjourned proceedings the following day.
Thirty-nine border guards have so far been arrested and accused in three separate mutiny cases in Longdu, Baghaichharhi and Barkal Upazilas of Rangamati district.
Nine of them were produced before the special court on the second day of proceedings (Nov 25). They were given until the next hearing (Sunday, Dec 27) to pick a BDR lawyer or a civil lawyer for their defence.
The nine men are havildars Shibbir Ahmed, Sohrab Hossain and Shamsul Haque, signalman Abdur Rahman and sepoys Md Abul Kalam Azad, Sakhawat Hossain, Russel Kabir, Zahir Uddin and Sarwar Kamal.
The bloody Feb 25-26 mutiny left over 70 people dead at the border force’s Dhaka headquarters, 57 of them army officers deputed to the border force. The rebellion spread to other BDR outposts around the country.
On Nov 15, the government formed six special courts, including two in Dhaka, to try some 3,500 border guards accused in some 40 cases in connection with the mutiny around the country.
If convicted, they face a maximum seven years in jail under BDR law.
President Zillur Rahman sent a reference to the Supreme Court on Aug 17 seeking directives on the trial process, specifically whether the trial of the BDR mutineers could be held under the Army Act.
The court appointed 10 senior lawyers as amici curiae, literally ‘friends of the court’, to advise on the reference. The court began hearing their opinions on the reference on Aug 25 and ended on Sept 3.
The majority of the amici curiae opined that trial of BDR personnel could not be held under the Army Act after the fact.
Source: bdnews24.com
Comments
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.