BANGLADESH: CABINET OKAYS BILL WITH DEATH PENALTY CLAUSE

March 1, 2010: the cabinet in Bangladesh approved in principle the Border Guard Bangladesh Bill 2010, keeping a provision of death penalty for offences like mutiny, killing, and arson within the country's frontier security force.
It also formed a six-member high-powered committee for a detailed analysis of the bill, and asked the committee to submit a report in the next cabinet meeting, with suggestions for modifications in the bill if necessary.
Highly placed sources in the government told The Daily Star that the bill will be submitted to the parliament in the current session, for making it into a law which will also change the name of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).
According to the BGB Bill 2010, a court of the restructured border security force will be able to sentence convicted mutineers and provocateurs of any mutiny to death. It also proposes a special tribunal in BGB to allow a convict to appeal against any punishment or to seek commuting of sentences, which are not allowed by the existing law. (Sources: Daily Star, 02/03/2010)