YaY! 4 statist 'mutineers' die in custody

Subject: YaY! 4 statist 'mutineers' die in custody Mon Mar 23, 2009 4:50 am

DHAKA - FOUR members of Bangladesh's border security force being held for questioning over a mutiny at a military base have died in custody in the past month, a police officer said.

The officer, who declined to be named, told AFP that the dead men were among those picked up by police in connection with the revolt last month at the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) headquarters on February 25-26.

'The body of one guard was found hanging and we suspect he committed suicide. Three others, including a Muslim cleric who is part of the BDR, are believed to have died of heart attacks,' the officer said.

'We are conducting post-mortems of the bodies to ascertain the causes of their deaths.' More than 70 people were killed in the 33-hour standoff by rank-and-file guards and at least 56 of the dead were senior army officers.

Police and the government have not said how many people are in custody.

Several thousand border guards are reportedly still being held for questioning at the military compound where the mutiny took place. They are unable to speak to their relatives, according to local media reports.

The most recent death happened on Sunday, and a family member of the deceased told English-language newspaper The Daily Star: 'My brother died an agonising death after torture.' Last week New York-based Human Rights Watch urged the government to be transparent about its investigation.

'There is no law in Bangladesh that criminalises torture,' Brad Adams, Asia director of the group, told AFP.

'Torture is completely out of control. There's a very strong chance that if you are arrested you will be tortured in custody. There are lots of deaths from torture in custody in Bangladesh. Officially, the deaths are put down as heart attacks.'

Human Rights Watch has urged the Bangladeshi government to try those accused of the mutiny through the court system. The army has said it wants to court-marshal those involved.

LNK

YaY! 4 statist 'mutineers' die in custody

YaY! 4 statist 'mutineers' die in custody

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