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Bangladesh orders 20 people killed for student killings | Stories of the Death Penalty

Abrar Fahad, 21, was beaten to death by his classmates at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology in 2019.

Dhaka, Bangladesh – A Bangladeshi court has sentenced 20 university students to death and five others to life in prison for killing a fellow student who criticized the government on television.

Abrar Fahad, a 21-year-old second-year student at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) was beaten to death on October 7, 2019 by 25 BUET students who were members of the Chhatra League, a student wing of the ruling Awami League.

The riots sparked student protests, with thousands taking to the streets across the country in search of justice.

Announcing the verdict on Wednesday, Judge Abu Zafar Md Kamruzzaman of the Dhaka Speedy Tribunal-1 stated: “The court has given them a very high level of punishment in order to prevent such a heinous crime from happening again.

“We feel that we should not procrastinate in wielding the sword of justice with absolute power, to the fullest extent possible, to the extent possible,” the judge added.

Fahad’s father Barkat Ullah told reporters outside the court that he was “happy” with the ruling.

“I will not give back to my son but this decision is a comfort to our family,” Ullah said. [convicts] he was recently punished for what he did, ”he said.

One of the defense lawyers, Faruk Ahmed, told Al Jazeera that he had appealed the decision.

Dangerous killing

Hours before his assassination, Fahad published a Facebook page criticizing the government led by Sheikh Hasina for making a water pact with India.

Dhaka and New Delhi have struggled for years to sign treaties. The dispute over the sharing of the Ganga River has been seen in Bangladesh as a good one for India.

As Fahad’s career spread, he was invited by Chhatra League activists to the university. The low-resolution images of a security camera that were widely distributed on TV showed him walking with other freedom fighters on the porch of the dormitory. He was interrogated by freedom fighters in another room in the bedroom.

Court documents revealed tragic reports of Fahad being surrounded by a cricket bat and jumping rope for hours. Fahad’s body was later lowered down the steps of the bedroom before doctors pronounced him dead the next morning.

Police later arrested 21 people in connection with the killings and a suspected suicide bomber.

Many issues remain unanswered

The perpetrators of the Awami League student group have been charged with murder, violence and kidnapping in recent years.

Members say they brutally suppressed a major student protest in 2018.

Professor of law Asif Nazrul said the assassination of Fahad shows the seriousness of the problems in Bangladeshi universities.

“We must remember that all those who were sentenced to death and life imprisonment were honorable students and were between the ages of 22-24. They were in their prime of life,” he said.

“We have to deal with how they turned into monsters.”

Nazrul said Chhatra League activists should feel free at university.

“Abrar’s horrible death [Fahad] and a reminder of the magnitude of the injustice that has plagued the Chhatra League and its parent organization, ”said Nazrul.

Mizanur Rahman, director of student welfare of BUET, told Al Jazeera that the ruling provided a “strong message” to students of Bangladeshi universities who participated in student politics.

“This ruling shows that you cannot stop doing bad things even if you are in the ruling party,” Rahman said.




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