BDR Mutiny Trial
Chief prosecutor slams HRW report
Terming the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report on the BDR mutiny trial “fabricated and unnecessary”, the chief prosecutor yesterday said the report encouraged the accused to create chaos and act unusually.
“There was a sort of resentment among the BDR members over food served during the trial, meeting relatives in the courtroom, setting up more washrooms and removing fetters during trial. But there was no allegation of torture,” Chief Prosecutor Anisul Huq told reporters yesterday.
HRW's July 4 report termed the trial fundamentally flawed and the accused as the prey of gross human rights violations.
HRW officials also called upon the government to immediately halt the trial and disband Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) for torturing the accused at Rab headquarters.
Anisul claimed that none of the erstwhile Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) members were kept under Rab custody.
“Their (HRW's) representatives never visited the court or the accused BDR members,” he said.
Afterwards, one of the defence counsels, Faruk Ahmad, claimed that the report was prepared on real facts and interviews with relatives of the accused and the defense counsels.
On July 9, the accused BDR members began shouting in the courtroom challenging the validity of the trial.
The judge stopped the trial for around one hour and 45 minutes and sat with the defense, prosecution and BGB officials to find a way to bring the situation under control.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments