Over 150 sentenced to death in mass trial

DHAKA, (AP):

A Bangladesh court sentenced 152 people to death yesterday for a 2009 mutiny by disgruntled border guards who killed dozens of military commanders during a brutal two-day uprising.

The sentences followed a mass trial involving 846 defendants, a process criticised by a human- rights group who said it was not credible and that at least 47 suspects died in custody.

The border guards, known at the time of the mutiny as the Bangladesh Rifles, said they revolted over demands for salaries in line with their commanders' in the army; assignments on United Nations peacekeeping missions, which come with generous perks; and better facilities.

The mutiny broke out on the border guards' leafy Dhaka compound, an oasis inside the city complete with its own rose garden and a small zoo.

By the time the insurrection ended, 74 people were dead, including 57 military commanders. Corpses were found stuffed inside manholes and buried in mass graves.