Mutinous soldiers of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) stand inside their headquarters in Dhaka in this February 26, 2009 file photo.  Bangladesh to execute 152 soldiers for mutiny crimes 
 
 Many of those sentenced angrily protested their innocence inside and outside court 
 
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 A court in Bangladesh has sentenced at least 152 soldiers to death over a bloody border guard mutiny in 2009. The civilian court could try people for much more serious crimes carrying the death penalty. Amid tight security, the court also sentenced 160 mutineers to life terms, including a former lawmaker of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and acquitted 171 soldiers. Besides the death sentences, 161 people were sentenced to life in prison; 256 people received prison terms between three and 10 years; and 277 people were acquitted. Grievances over different facilities for army and border guards led to the mutiny, Judge Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman said in comments accompanying the verdict. The case exposed deep tensions between the government and the powerful military, who were angered over Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's decision to negotiate with the mutineers instead of allowing the army to attack. Others included 57 top- and middle-ranking army officers deputed to the force, as well as several civilians. Members of the BDR, since renamed as Border Guards Bangladesh, say they revolted over demands for salaries in line with their army commanders. Some of those convicted say they had nothing to do with the uprising 
 
 The sentences pronounced by the civilian court prompted stunned disbelief among the families of those convicted who gathered outside 
 
 The accused had little or no access to lawyers - campaigners say mass prosecutions are an affront to international legal standards 
 
 Officials say that they are satisfied with the sentences despite the protestations of many of those who were sentenced 
 
 New York-based Human Rights Watch has criticised the trial process, arguing that it has been deeply flawed 
 
 Dhaka's Metropolitan Sessions Court Judge Mohamed Akhtaruzzaman announced the verdicts in a packed courtroom surrounded by tight security 
 
 "The atrocities were so heinous that even the dead bodies were not given their rights," Judge Mohammad Akhtaruzzaman said as he read out the verdicts over several hours by using the serial numbers of defendants and their corresponding sentences. Defense lawyer Aminul Islam vowed to appeal against the judgment. Prosecutor Kajol said the government would also appeal, against Tuesday's 171 acquittals. While the army courts investigated breaches of military law - jailing nearly 6,000 troops - the maximum sentence they could pass was seven years.
– A 2009 mutiny of disgruntled border guards seeking higher wages in Bangladesh resulted in 74 deaths; now far more than that are set to die. After a mass civilian trial that began in 2011 and involved 846 defendants, 152 border guards have been sentenced to execution, Reuters and the AP report. Some 161 others are getting life in prison, while 256 have been sentenced to three to 10 years. Another 277 were acquitted, though the BBC reports many of them were convicted in military tribunals and are unlikely to go free. Human Rights Watch criticized the proceedings, noting that 47 suspects died in custody. "Trying hundreds of people en masse in one giant courtroom, where the accused have little or no access to lawyers, is an affront to international legal standards." The defense plans an appeal, per the AP. The mutiny lasted 30 hours and saw 57 officers killed, with bodies tossed in sewers. "The atrocities were so heinous that even the dead bodies were not given their rights," said the judge as he read the verdicts, a process that took hours. But he did point out that the soldiers should have indeed been awarded better pay. In earlier military tribunals, some 4,000 people were found guilty and received sentences lasting up to seven years, Reuters reports.