20 sentenced to death in Abrar Fahad murder case

Bangladesh sentenced 20 people to death on Wednesday for the brutal 2019 murder of a university student who criticised the government on social media, a prosecutor told AFP.

“Twenty people have been sentenced to death and five people were sentenced to life in prison over the killing of Abrar Fahad,” prosecutor Abdullah Abu said.

In 2019, Abrar, a 21-year-old student of electrical and electronic engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), was beaten to death by Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders at Sher-e-Bangla Hall of the university.

He was found dead on the staircase of the dorm in the early hours of October 7 after he was taken to room No 2011 around 8 pm on October 6 and beaten mercilessly.

On October 7, 2019, Abrar’s father Barkat Ullah filed the murder case with Chawkbazar police station.

On November 13, 2019, Inspector Wahiduzzaman of the Detective Branch, the investigating officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet against the accused.

On September 15, 2020, the court framed charges against the 25.

The court recorded statements of 47 out of the 60 witnesses in the case.

On March 14 this year, the 22 accused arrested in the case pleaded not guilty on account of self-defence.

The 25 accused in the case are Mehedi Hasan Russel, Anik Sarker, Ifti Mosharraf Sakal, Md Mehedi Hasan Robin, Md Meftahul Islam Jeon, Muntassir Alam Jemmy, Khandaker Tabakkharul Islam Tanvir, Md Muzahidur Rahman, Muhtasim Fuad, Md Moniruzzaman Monir, Md Akash Hossain, Hossain Mohammad Toha, Md Mazedul Islam, Shamim Billah, Moaj Abu Hurayra, ASM Nazmus Sadat, Istiak Ahammed Munna, Amit Saha, Md Mizanur Rahman alias Mizan, Shamsul Arefin Rafat, SM Mahmud Setu, Morsheduzzaman Jisan, Ehteshamul Rabbi Tanim, Morshed Amatya Islam and Mostaba Rafid.

Of them, Jisan, Rafid and Tanim have yet to be arrested and were tried in absentia.

According to the police, of the 25 accused, 11 took part in the gruesome murder directly and the others played a role in the crime one way or another. Of those arrested, eight have given confessional statements in the case.

Buet students and the university authorities found the seemingly lifeless body of Abrar, 22, on the first-floor stairs of Sher-e-Bangla Hall and rushed him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), where doctors declared him dead at around 6:30am on October 7, 2019.

Abrar, a second-year student of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering department, was beaten to death by the Chhatra League activists over his posts on Facebook.

The incident triggered a firestorm of protests on campuses across the country. Many took to social media to demand justice for Abrar.

Amid protests on the campus, Buet authorities on October 11 the same year banned all political activities on the campus and suspended 19 students of the university who were accused in the case.