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6 November 2013 Last updated at 11:43 ET
UN's Pillay slams Bangladesh death sentences over mutiny
UN rights commissioner Navi Pillay has expressed serious alarm over Bangladesh's sentencing of 152 soldiers to death over a bloody mutiny in 2009.
Ms Pillay said crimes committed during the mutiny were "utterly reprehensible and heinous", but said the trials that followed "failed to meet the most fundamental standards of due process".
But Bangladesh insists those convicted have ample right to appeal and all defendants had lawyers.
The 30-hour revolt left 74 people dead.
It began over pay and other grievances and spread from the capital Dhaka to bases around the country.
Army courts have jailed nearly 6,000 soldiers over breaches of military law, but the maximum sentence is seven years.
Civilian courts have been trying people for more serious crimes - murder, torture and other charges. As a result, 152 soldiers were sentenced to death while 161 others, mostly border guards, were given life sentences.
A reported 256 people received prison terms between three and 10 years at the special makeshift courthouse on Tuesday, while more than 270 people were acquitted.
Continue reading the main story The Bangladesh mutiny of 2009Began principally because of resentment over pay and conditions - the average border guard at the time of the mutiny earned about $70 (£50) a month, equivalent to the wages of a low-ranking government clerkExactly why it became so violent - with senior officers and their family members shot in cold blood - is unclear; one theory is that resentment against the officer-class had reached boiling pointThe mutineers stole about 2,500 weapons and broke into an annual meeting of top border defence officers before shooting themThe case is believed to be one of the largest of its type in the world, with hundreds of witnesses called for the trial that started in January 2011The uprising briefly threatened to overthrow the newly-elected government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a country with a history of military-backed coupsSoon after the uprising was crushed, the government announced it was changing the law to allow mutiny to be a capital offence
'Cruel revenge'
In her statement, Ms Pillay sets out some of the crimes that took place during the mutiny, which began on 25 February 2009 at the Bangladeshi Rifles headquarters in the capital.
Seventy-four people, including 57 army officers, "were brutally killed. Bodies were dumped in ditches and some wives of army officers were sexually assaulted", the statement says.
But the statement adds:
Some suspects died in custody, according to reports
There were allegations of widespread abuse and torture of detainees
Evidence obtained under torture was reportedly admitted in court
It also raised concerns about the mass trials of hundreds of individuals.
"The perpetrators of the crimes must be held accountable in compliance with the laws of Bangladesh and the country's international obligations, including those pertaining to fair trial standards, as laid down in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Bangladesh ratified in 2000. The trial of these 847 suspects has been rife with procedural irregularities, including the lack of adequate and timely access to lawyers," Ms Pillay contended.
Amnesty International has also joined a chorus of protest over the sentences.
"Justice has not been served with today's ruling, which, if carried out, will only result in 152 more human rights violations," said deputy Asia-Pacific director Polly Truscott.
"With these sentences, Bangladesh has squandered an opportunity to reinforce trust in the rule of law by ensuring the civilian courts deliver justice. Instead, the sentences seem designed to satisfy a desire for cruel revenge.
"The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and has not been proven to be a deterrent to crime."
Claims dismissed
But earlier the Bangladeshi authorities defended the sentences, with Law Minister Shafique Ahmed saying each of those convicted of the death penalty would have at least two tiers of appeal.
"No death sentence will be carried out unless they are confirmed in the higher courts," Mr Ahmed was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
He has dismissed claims that suspects were tortured in custody, while lead prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain has insisted every defendant had a lawyer and that an "unprecedented" number of witnesses were called to substantiate the charges.
BBC Bengali editor Sabir Mustafa says it will be very difficult for the authorities not to carry out the death sentences - to do otherwise would anger the army and send the wrong message to future would-be mutineers, he says.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/asia/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24839319
U.N. rights chief says Bangladesh trials unfair
A trial in Bangladesh, which brought death sentences for 152 border guards accused of murder and arson in a mutiny in 2009, failed to meet international law standards, United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay said on Wednesday.
Citing allegations that many of the defendants in the mass trial, which ended on Tuesday, had been abused and tortured while in jail, she also called for a full independent investigation into how the accused were treated.
"The crimes committed during the mutiny were utterly reprehensible and heinous," the former South African high court and International Criminal Court judge said in a statement.
But she added: "Justice will not be achieved by conducting mass trials of hundreds of individuals, torturing suspects in custody and sentencing them to death after trials that failed to meet the most fundamental standards of due process."
The government has in the past denied such allegations from non-governmental human rights groups, but diplomats said it would be more difficult to brush off strictures from the widely-respected Pillay.
Some 850 people had been accused in the 2-year trial of involvement in a bloody rampage over living conditions that broke out in Dhaka, the capital, and spread to other towns, leaving 174 people dead and many injured.
The mutiny shook the then newly-elected government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, which ended the revolt by negotiating a settlement. A junior minister in Bangladesh said on Tuesday it had been part of a plot to overthrow and kill her.
The special court also sentenced to life imprisonment 160 of the mutineers, from a para-military force then known as the Bangladesh Rifles and now called Border Guard Bangladesh. They included a leader of the BNP main opposition party.
A total of 171 of the mutineers, whose main complaint was that their regular army commanders were better paid and housed, were acquitted, while the remainder of the some 4,000 defendants were given jail terms of up to 10 years and fines.
Pillay said the trial had been "rife with procedural irregularities, including the lack of adequate and timely access to lawyers". She called for an independent investigation of the alleged torture and deaths among the mutineers.
"The conviction and sentencing of each of the suspects must be reviewed individually, and any evidence obtained under torture must not be admitted in court," Pillay declared.
At the same time, she voiced concern about the conduct of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) set up by the Bangladesh government in 2010 to try people accused of atrocities during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.
The ICT, she said, should be an important means to tackle impunity for those atrocities and provide redress to the victims, but its proceedings had to meet the highest standards if they were to enforce the rule of law.
The Tribunal has sentenced 7 people to death, but Pillay called on the Bangladesh government not to carry out the sentences due to concerns about the fairness of the trials.
(Reporting by Robert Evans, Editing by Patrick Lannin)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/06/us-un-rights-bangladesh-idUSBRE9A50R720131106
UN's Pillay slams Bangladesh death sentences over mutiny
UN rights commissioner Navi Pillay has expressed serious alarm over Bangladesh's sentencing of 152 soldiers to death over a bloody mutiny in 2009.
Ms Pillay said crimes committed during the mutiny were "utterly reprehensible and heinous", but said the trials that followed "failed to meet the most fundamental standards of due process".
But Bangladesh insists those convicted have ample right to appeal and all defendants had lawyers.
The 30-hour revolt left 74 people dead.
It began over pay and other grievances and spread from the capital Dhaka to bases around the country.
Army courts have jailed nearly 6,000 soldiers over breaches of military law, but the maximum sentence is seven years.
Civilian courts have been trying people for more serious crimes - murder, torture and other charges. As a result, 152 soldiers were sentenced to death while 161 others, mostly border guards, were given life sentences.
A reported 256 people received prison terms between three and 10 years at the special makeshift courthouse on Tuesday, while more than 270 people were acquitted.
Continue reading the main story The Bangladesh mutiny of 2009Began principally because of resentment over pay and conditions - the average border guard at the time of the mutiny earned about $70 (£50) a month, equivalent to the wages of a low-ranking government clerkExactly why it became so violent - with senior officers and their family members shot in cold blood - is unclear; one theory is that resentment against the officer-class had reached boiling pointThe mutineers stole about 2,500 weapons and broke into an annual meeting of top border defence officers before shooting themThe case is believed to be one of the largest of its type in the world, with hundreds of witnesses called for the trial that started in January 2011The uprising briefly threatened to overthrow the newly-elected government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a country with a history of military-backed coupsSoon after the uprising was crushed, the government announced it was changing the law to allow mutiny to be a capital offence
'Cruel revenge'
In her statement, Ms Pillay sets out some of the crimes that took place during the mutiny, which began on 25 February 2009 at the Bangladeshi Rifles headquarters in the capital.
Seventy-four people, including 57 army officers, "were brutally killed. Bodies were dumped in ditches and some wives of army officers were sexually assaulted", the statement says.
But the statement adds:
Some suspects died in custody, according to reports
There were allegations of widespread abuse and torture of detainees
Evidence obtained under torture was reportedly admitted in court
It also raised concerns about the mass trials of hundreds of individuals.
"The perpetrators of the crimes must be held accountable in compliance with the laws of Bangladesh and the country's international obligations, including those pertaining to fair trial standards, as laid down in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Bangladesh ratified in 2000. The trial of these 847 suspects has been rife with procedural irregularities, including the lack of adequate and timely access to lawyers," Ms Pillay contended.
Amnesty International has also joined a chorus of protest over the sentences.
"Justice has not been served with today's ruling, which, if carried out, will only result in 152 more human rights violations," said deputy Asia-Pacific director Polly Truscott.
"With these sentences, Bangladesh has squandered an opportunity to reinforce trust in the rule of law by ensuring the civilian courts deliver justice. Instead, the sentences seem designed to satisfy a desire for cruel revenge.
"The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and has not been proven to be a deterrent to crime."
Claims dismissed
But earlier the Bangladeshi authorities defended the sentences, with Law Minister Shafique Ahmed saying each of those convicted of the death penalty would have at least two tiers of appeal.
"No death sentence will be carried out unless they are confirmed in the higher courts," Mr Ahmed was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
He has dismissed claims that suspects were tortured in custody, while lead prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain has insisted every defendant had a lawyer and that an "unprecedented" number of witnesses were called to substantiate the charges.
BBC Bengali editor Sabir Mustafa says it will be very difficult for the authorities not to carry out the death sentences - to do otherwise would anger the army and send the wrong message to future would-be mutineers, he says.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/asia/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24839319
U.N. rights chief says Bangladesh trials unfair
A trial in Bangladesh, which brought death sentences for 152 border guards accused of murder and arson in a mutiny in 2009, failed to meet international law standards, United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay said on Wednesday.
Citing allegations that many of the defendants in the mass trial, which ended on Tuesday, had been abused and tortured while in jail, she also called for a full independent investigation into how the accused were treated.
"The crimes committed during the mutiny were utterly reprehensible and heinous," the former South African high court and International Criminal Court judge said in a statement.
But she added: "Justice will not be achieved by conducting mass trials of hundreds of individuals, torturing suspects in custody and sentencing them to death after trials that failed to meet the most fundamental standards of due process."
The government has in the past denied such allegations from non-governmental human rights groups, but diplomats said it would be more difficult to brush off strictures from the widely-respected Pillay.
Some 850 people had been accused in the 2-year trial of involvement in a bloody rampage over living conditions that broke out in Dhaka, the capital, and spread to other towns, leaving 174 people dead and many injured.
The mutiny shook the then newly-elected government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, which ended the revolt by negotiating a settlement. A junior minister in Bangladesh said on Tuesday it had been part of a plot to overthrow and kill her.
The special court also sentenced to life imprisonment 160 of the mutineers, from a para-military force then known as the Bangladesh Rifles and now called Border Guard Bangladesh. They included a leader of the BNP main opposition party.
A total of 171 of the mutineers, whose main complaint was that their regular army commanders were better paid and housed, were acquitted, while the remainder of the some 4,000 defendants were given jail terms of up to 10 years and fines.
Pillay said the trial had been "rife with procedural irregularities, including the lack of adequate and timely access to lawyers". She called for an independent investigation of the alleged torture and deaths among the mutineers.
"The conviction and sentencing of each of the suspects must be reviewed individually, and any evidence obtained under torture must not be admitted in court," Pillay declared.
At the same time, she voiced concern about the conduct of the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) set up by the Bangladesh government in 2010 to try people accused of atrocities during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.
The ICT, she said, should be an important means to tackle impunity for those atrocities and provide redress to the victims, but its proceedings had to meet the highest standards if they were to enforce the rule of law.
The Tribunal has sentenced 7 people to death, but Pillay called on the Bangladesh government not to carry out the sentences due to concerns about the fairness of the trials.
(Reporting by Robert Evans, Editing by Patrick Lannin)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/06/us-un-rights-bangladesh-idUSBRE9A50R720131106
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