Bangladesh HC upholds death penalty for 20 students in lynching case
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Abrar Fahad was lynched on October 7, 2019.
Dhaka: The Bangladesh High Court on Sunday upheld the death penalty for 20 students of an elite university who were convicted of brutally lynching their fellow student in 2019 over his alleged political views. The verdict confirms the ruling of a lower court, which sentenced the students to death for the murder of Abrar Fahad, a second-year electrical and electronics student at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).
A two-judge bench comprising Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain pronounced the verdict, concluding hearings on both the mandatory death reference and the appeals filed by the convicts challenging the lower court's judgment. Court officials stated that the decision reaffirmed the severe punishment handed down by the Dhaka court in 2021.
The convicted students were all members of the now-disbanded Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League. Fahad was lynched on October 7, 2019, after posting criticism of the government on Facebook. Investigations revealed that he was subjected to nearly six hours of brutal assault with cricket bats and other blunt objects by 25 fellow students inside a university dormitory. His battered body was discovered the next morning.
Following the shocking murder, both BUET and the BCL expelled the accused students. The Dhaka court delivered its initial verdict on December 8, 2021, sentencing 20 of them to death while Awami League was still in power. In addition to upholding these sentences, the High Court also confirmed life imprisonment for five other convicted students.
Attorney General M Asaduzzaman confirmed the ruling and stated that it was a crucial step toward justice. Fahad’s father expressed satisfaction with the verdict and urged for its swift implementation. His brother Faiyaz also welcomed the ruling, stating, “We did not expect such a swift verdict from the High Court, but we are satisfied. However, there are still legal procedures to go through.”
On the other hand, defence lawyer Azizur Rahman Dulu voiced disappointment over the decision, saying, “We will appeal to the Appellate Division, hoping to receive justice there.”
While the convicts were tried in person, one of the death row inmates, Muntasir Al Jamie, managed to escape from Kashimpur Central Jail last year. He was among 86 death row convicts, including several militants, who fled the high-security prison on August 6, 2024, just a day after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s regime during a massive student-led protest. Taking advantage of the nationwide unrest, they escaped in one of the most significant prison breaks in the country’s history.
With PTI inputs