Bangladesh court upholds death sentences for 20 ex-students over 2019 murder

A court in Bangladesh upheld on Sunday death sentences of 20 former university students convicted of murdering a fellow student in 2019 who had criticised the country’s former government on social media.

Abrar Fahad, 21, a student at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), was killed hours after publishing a Facebook post that criticised the then government of Sheikh Hasina for signing a water-sharing treaty with India.

Fahad was beaten for nearly six hours with cricket bats by a group of 25 students, all members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of former prime minister’s political party, the Awami League.

The student wing was accused of creating a reign of terror on university campuses before Hasina was ousted last year following a student-led uprising.

 “I am satisfied. I hope the legal procedures will be completed soon, and justice will be served,” Fahad’s father, Barkat Ullah, told reporters after the verdict was announced by the court on Sunday.

“I don’t want to blame the parents who sent their sons to the top university, but they got involved in bad politics. I would urge others to stay away from harmful activities,” he added.

Fahad’s killing sparked nationwide protests, forcing Hasina to pledge the highest punishment for the perpetrators.

Due legal process will be followed to implement the verdict, Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman told reporters.

“The High Court upheld the lower court verdict that handed down death sentences to 20 and life imprisonment to five,” Asaduzzaman said.

“The convicts will be allowed to appeal against the verdict and will have all the rights ensured by the court.”

Syed Mizanur Rahman, one of the group’s defence lawyers, said, “We will appeal against the verdict.”

Of the 20 sentenced to death, four are still on the run.

One of them, Muntasir Al Jamie, who was convicted in Faha’s murder, broke through the prison wall of a high security jail on August 6.

Death sentences are common in Bangladesh, with hundreds of people currently on death row.

All executions are carried out by hanging, a legacy of British colonial rule.