A Bangladesh High Court confirmed the death sentence of 20 men convicted of the death of a fellow student in a university campus.
Abrar Fahad, a 21-year-old student at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), was killed in October 2019, hours after publishing a Facebook post with the criticism of the then Sheikh Hasina government’s treaty with India.
Massive protests broke out in Bangladesh after being beaten to death with cricket bats and skipped ropes by a group of 25 students who were members of the Bangladesh Chatra League – the banned student wing of MS Hasina’s Awami League party.
The body of the second -year student was found on a staircase at the University of the University. An autopsy showed that he was blown with blunt objects and had extensive bruises on his hands, legs and back.
The mass protests forced Ms Hasina to pledge the highest punishment for the offenders. The group of 20 was sentenced to death by a lower court in 2021.
A High Court Bank of Judge Akm Asaduzzaman and Judge Syed Enayet Hossain on Sunday confirmed the death sentence of 20 men and life in prison for five others. Four of the 20 men who were sentenced to death were still great. One of the convicts, Muntasir Al Jamie, broke through the prison wall of a high security in August 2024 during the anti-government mass protests.
“I’m satisfied. I hope the legal procedures will be completed soon, and justice is done, ”Fahad’s father, Barkat Ullah, told reporters after the verdict.
“I don’t want to blame the parents who sent their sons to top university, but they got involved in bad politics. I will encourage others to stay away from harmful activities, ”he added.
He urged students not to do a bad politics. “Parents send their children to educational institutions and work hard so that the children have education. However, if children fall off and admit to temptation, parents are deeply injured,” he added.
Abrar Faiyaz, the younger brother of the victim, said the family did not even think a year ago that the Supreme Court’s ruling would be delivered “so soon”. ‘This was possible due to the conversion on August 5 last year. However, there is still much to be done. ‘
Bangladesh is managed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who was appointed as the main adviser, after Ms. Hasina’s outer last year after a violent rebellion against the government.
Mr Faiyaz added that if a verdict is quickly implemented, it will act as a deterrent. “No one else should have the same fate as Abrar Fahad,” he added.
The advocates for some of the defendants said they would appeal against the verdict. “After the appeal has been filed, the execution of the death sentence will be suspended,” Azizur Rahman Dulu, the lawyer of two of the prisoners, told the Daily star.
