Families of the fallen army officers and surviving personnel from the tragic 2009 Pilkhana carnage have jointly appealed for swift and effective legal measures to ensure justice.
At a press conference on Wednesday, they urged the government to appoint experienced lawyers to handle the ongoing cases and ensure that the actual culprits are appropriately punished.
The families emphasized the necessity of bringing the masterminds and instigators behind the massacre under the law.
Their comments came amid recent movements by certain groups advocating for the release of convicted former BDR members while shifting blame solely onto former prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The victims’ families highlighted concerns that the lawyers appointed after August 5 are new to the complex Pilkhana-related cases and need adequate time to grasp the details of the incident.
Therefore, they requested the government to engage seasoned legal professionals to continue the legal battle.
Families of the martyrs from the 2009 Pilkhana carnage firmly said that none of those sentenced to life imprisonment or death in the case were innocent.
They condemned ongoing efforts to secure their release, calling such attempts unethical and an affront to justice.
The families and surviving former army officers vividly recalled the harrowing 36-hour ordeal that claimed the lives of 57 army officers in a brutal mutiny at the then-BDR headquarters in Pilkhana.
The memories of that devastating event still haunt them.
“We witnessed the actions of the BDR personnel on that day. Not a single one of them was innocent,” one family member declared.
They demanded that the punishments handed down to the perpetrators be fully executed and insisted that those who planned and aided the rebellion be identified and held accountable.
The families expressed hope that the cases, which had reportedly been stalled during Sheikh Hasina’s administration, would now be concluded under the interim government with a fair and transparent judicial process.
“We expect justice and the proper conclusion of these cases so that no similar tragedy can ever occur in the future,” a spokesperson for the families said.
They called on the interim government to establish a special tribunal to identify, prosecute, and punish the planners, instigators, and collaborators involved in the mutiny.
Furthermore, they demanded that February 25 be officially declared as National Martyred Army Officers Day.
Dhaka Tribune