The trial has been in limbo for the last 15 years
The government has appointed 20 special public prosecutors to handle the explosive substances case related to the BDR mutiny that took place 15 years ago at Dhaka's Pilkhana.
The law ministry's Law and Justice Division issued an order announcing the appointments on Sunday.
The newly-appointed special public prosecutors include Md Borhan Uddin, Farhad Niyon, Zakir Hossain Bhuiyan, Rovana Nasrin Shefali, Mohammad Jahangir Hossain, Md Mohiuddin Chowdhury, Md Shafiul Bashar Sajal, Golam Moktadir Ujjal, Hannan Bhuiyan, Md Abdul Latif, Md Mehedi Hasan Jewel, Gazi Mashkurul Alam Sourav, Md Helal Uddin, Md Zillur Rahman, Mahfuzur Rahman Elias, Md Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury, Md Mehebub Hossain, Md Mizanur Rahman Shihab, Md Khurshid Alam, and Asgar Hossain.
Borhan Uddin will have the status of an additional attorney general, while Farhad and Zakir will hold the status of deputy attorney generals. The remaining appointees will have the status of assistant attorney generals.
On Sept 9, following a change in government, the previous appointments of 17 special public prosecutors (PPs) for this case were revoked.
The BDR mutiny on Feb 25-26, 2009, at the headquarters of the border security forces resulted in the deaths of 74 people, including 57 army officers. The incident sent shockwaves across the nation and drew international attention.
After the mutiny, the force was renamed from BDR to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and changes were made to their uniforms.
While the mutiny was tried in the BGB court, the murder case was brought to a civilian court. Two cases emerged from the incident: one for murder and another under the explosives law.
Due to the explosives case, 468 BDR members who had been acquitted or completed their sentences in the murder case remain in custody.
The murder case trial of 850 defendants ended on Nov 5, 2013, with 152 sentenced to death, 160 receiving life imprisonment, and 256 handed various prison terms. A total of 278 were acquitted.
On Nov 27, 2017, the High Court upheld the death sentences for 139 people, imposed life sentences on 185, and issued varying prison terms to 228. The court acquitted 283 others.
Before the High Court ruling, 54 defendants, including 15, had passed away. Appeals and leave-to-appeal petitions against the High Court’s judgment have been filed by 226 defendants, while the state has appealed against the acquittals and reduced sentences of 83 people. These appeals are still pending.
The trial of 834 defendants in the explosives case began in 2010 but stalled midway as the state prioritized presenting evidence in the murder case.
Since the interim government took the reigns, there have been renewed calls for a re-investigation into the BDR mutiny. Home Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has said that the re-investigation into the murders during the mutiny will begin soon.
