The High Court will announce its verdict on the death references and appeals in the murder case of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) student Abrar Fahad on Sunday.
A bench comprising Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain fixed the date after concluding the hearing on 24 February.
Attorney General Mohammad Asaduzzaman, along with Deputy Attorney General Mohammad Jasim Sorkar, Khondkar Bahar Rumi, Noor Mohammad Azmi, and Russell Ahmed, represented the state. Senior lawyers SM Shahjahan, Azizur Rahman Dulu, Masud Hasan Chowdhury, and Mohammad Shishir Monir defended the accused.
Abrar, a second-year Electrical and Electronics Engineering (EEE) student at Buet, was beaten to death by Bangladesh Chhatra League members at Sher-e-Bangla Hall on 6 October 2019. The attack was allegedly over a Facebook post regarding Bangladesh-India water-sharing issues. His body was later found on the dormitory staircase.
His father filed a murder case against 19 individuals at Chawkbazar Police Station, sparking widespread protests across the country.
On 8 December 2021, a Dhaka court sentenced 20 Buet students to death and five others to life imprisonment.
The death row convicts are Mehedi Hassan Rasel, Anik Sarker, Mehedi Hassan Robin, Ifty Mosharaf Sakal, Moniruzzaman Monir, Meftahul Islam Jiyon, Majedur Rahman, Muzahidur Rahman, Tabakhairul Islam Tanvir, Hossen Mohammad Toha, Shamim Billah, Nazmus Shadat, Muntasir Al Jemi, Mizanur Rahman, Mahmud Setu, Shamsul Arifin Rafat, Morshed Omorto Islam, Ehtesamul Rabbi, Morshed Uzzaman Jishan, and Mujtaba Rafeed.
The five sentenced to life imprisonment are Muhtasim Fuyad, Akash Hossain, Mowaz Abu Horaira, Omit Shaha, and Istiaq Hassan Munna.
The High Court began hearing the death reference and appeals on 28 November 2023.
