Bangladesh Border Guard soldiers on trial wait in a prison van at at the BDR headquarters in Dhaka on Aug. 28. A special court is delivering verdict against 673 members of the 44th battalion for their alleged role in the 2009 bloody mutiny at the then Bangladesh Rifles headquarters. (Munir uz Zaman/AFP/GettyImages)

Bangladeshi authorities have imprisoned 723 border guards for partaking in a violent mutiny in 2009.

Sixty-four were sentenced to seven years imprisonment, the most they could be jailed under law, reported Bangladesh-based Financial Express.

In all, nearly 6,000 soldiers have been imprisoned for taking part in the mutiny, according to the NDTV. The February 2009 mutiny left 57 army officers dead.

Human Rights Watch has criticized Bangladesh for the treatment of the guards who were on trial, according to News Track India. Numerous suspects have been killed, beaten, and tortured while in custody, it said.

The military has said that Human Rights Watch’s claims are not founded, saying several guards died due to heart attacks.

“In all, 735 border guards were charged. Two died during the trial and 10 were acquitted,” state prosecutor Gazi Zillur Rahman told News Track.

Officials said border guards who are accused of more egregious offenses, including murder, could face the death penalty in a separate trial.

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