Families of 468 former Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) members on Sunday sought Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s intervention for the release of their loved ones from jail.
They came up with the demand at a press conference at the Dhaka Judge Court.
The family members said that of the 468, a total of 278 BDR soldiers were acquitted from a murder case charges while 190 BDR soldiers were convicted to different terms of imprisonment.
They said the former BDR members have already served their jail term in the case and are still being kept in jail. Meanwhile, the family members also said that there is another case filed against their close ones under the Explosive Substances Act which is pending with a Dhaka court for a long time.
On February 25, 2009, several hundred disgruntled BDR personnel, later renamed as Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), rose up in an armed revolt at Darbar Hall during a three-day BDR Week inside their Pilkhana headquarters.
They killed 74 people, including 57 deputed army officers.
On November 5, 2013, a trial court pronounced death sentences on 152 of the accused while another 423 were sentenced to different prison terms in the murder case.
