The state has appointed a lawyer for the two death-row convicts in the Ramisa rape and murder case, as the High Court prepares to hear the death reference and appeals, officials said on Thursday.
Supreme Court lawyer Hafizur Rahman Khan will represent Sohail Rana and Swapna Khatun, Additional Attorney General Muhammad Abdul Jabbar Bhuiyan confirmed.
“The death reference and appeal hearing will be held once some procedures are completed,” he said.
On 16 June, a High Court bench comprising Justice Bhishmadev Chakraborty and Justice KM Rasheduzzaman Raja ordered the appointment of state-funded lawyers for the convicts. The court had earlier accepted their jail appeals for hearing on 14 June. The convicts had filed the appeals through prison authorities on 11 June.
On 9 June, the death reference — all case documents — had reached the High Court for confirmation of the death sentences.
On 7 June, Judge Masrur Salekin of the Dhaka Metropolitan Child Violence Suppression Tribunal pronounced the death sentence for both accused. The court also fined Sohail Tk5 lakh and Swapna Tk2 lakh, ordering the amount to be paid to Ramisa’s legal heirs.
If the fines are not paid, the collectorate office was instructed to seize the convicts’ movable and immovable property and sell it to provide the amount to the victim’s family.
According to the case complaint, Ramisa was brutally tortured, raped, and murdered on the morning of 19 May inside the flat of a neighbouring tenant.
The victim’s father, Abdul Hannan Molla, filed a case at Pallabi Police Station the following day. Police completed the investigation swiftly and submitted the charge sheet on 24 May. The tribunal accepted the charge sheet the same day and sent the case for trial.
On 1 June, the court formally framed charges against the two accused and began trial proceedings. The following day, testimony from 16 out of 18 witnesses was recorded. The High Court will now hear the jail appeals alongside the death reference.
