The Bangladesh High Court has upheld the death sentences of 139 erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles personnel, now Border Guards, over the killing of 74 people including 57 Army officers in the BDR Mutiny case of 2009. A three-member bench headed by Justice Mohamed Shawkat Hossain delivered the verdict yesterday. <br/><br/>The High Court also upheld the life sentences of 146 convicts for their involvement in the carnage and jail terms of 7 years of 4 convicts. Thirty-one people acquitted by the lower court were also awarded life sentences by the High Court. The gruesome case involving 850 accused is the largest single case in the history of Bangladesh. <br/>'<br/>Delivering the verdict, the High Court said it appears that the BDR Mutiny was a conspiracy by a vested interest to hamper the stability of the country and its socioeconomic safety by destroying a trained and skilled professional force. The Mutiny which raged for two days during Feb 25-26 of 2009 occurred barely a month after a new government headed by Sheikh Hasina took over.

The Bangladesh High Court has upheld the death sentences of 139 erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles personnel, now Border Guards, over the killing of 74 people including 57 Army officers in the BDR Mutiny case of 2009. A three-member bench headed by Justice Mohamed Shawkat Hossain delivered the verdict yesterday. <br/><br/>The High Court also upheld the life sentences of 146 convicts for their involvement in the carnage and jail terms of 7 years of 4 convicts. Thirty-one people acquitted by the lower court were also awarded life sentences by the High Court. The gruesome case involving 850 accused is the largest single case in the history of Bangladesh. <br/>'<br/>Delivering the verdict, the High Court said it appears that the BDR Mutiny was a conspiracy by a vested interest to hamper the stability of the country and its socioeconomic safety by destroying a trained and skilled professional force. The Mutiny which raged for two days during Feb 25-26 of 2009 occurred barely a month after a new government headed by Sheikh Hasina took over.