Bangladesh Court Sentences 20 To Death for Student Murder

A Bangladeshi court sentenced 20 college students to death on Wednesday for their role in the murder of a 21-year-old student in 2019. Five other suspects were also sentenced to life in prison for their roles in the suspected murder.

Abrar Fahad's bruised body was discovered in his dorm room just hours after he criticised Prime Minister Seikh Hasina on Facebook for negotiating a water-sharing arrangement with India.

Farhad was allegedly abused for six hours by 25 other students from the ruling Awami League's Bangladesh Chhatra League, who used a cricket bat and other hard items (BCL).

All of those sentenced to death were between the ages of 20 and 22 at the time of the crime, and, like Fahad, attended the prestigious Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.

In a Facebook post, Farhad blasted the government for negotiating the deal that allowed India to draw water from a river that runs along their shared border. In leaked CCTV footage that went viral on social media, Fahad was seen entering a dormitory with three BCL activists.

The students carried his body out and put it on the ground six hours later.

After some of its members were charged with murder, assault, and extortion, the BCL gained prominence in following years. Its members are accused of using violence to put down a massive anti-government student protest in 2018.

Outrage about road safety fuelled the protests when a student was killed by a speeding bus. Protesters have demanded that the perpetrators be held accountable and that the BCL be made illegal.

Soon after the assaults, Hasina warned that the perpetrators would suffer "the worst sentence." In Bangladesh, death sentences are prevalent, with hundreds of prisoners on execution row. All executions are carried out by hanging, which dates back to the British imperial period.

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