In the high-profile Abrar Fahad murder case, nine convicts sentenced to death have filed appeals against the High Court verdict that upheld their capital punishment. Another convict, who received life imprisonment, has filed a leave-to-appeal petition seeking permission to appeal. These appeals and petitions were submitted to the Appellate Division over the past and current month.
On March 16, the High Court upheld the trial court’s verdict, confirming the death penalty for 20 convicts and life imprisonment for five others. The full 131-page verdict was published in late April.
Among the death-row convicts, Morshed Amartya Islam filed his appeal on May 19. According to defense lawyers, Meftahul Islam and Mehedi Hasan (Russel) filed their appeals last month. Six other death-row convicts—Ifti Mosharraf, Moniruzzaman, Mizanur Rahman, Shamsul Arefin, Onik Sarker, and Khandaker Tabakkarul Islam—filed separate appeals this month. On June 4, Akash Hossain, sentenced to life imprisonment, submitted a leave-to-appeal petition.
Senior advocate SM Shahjahan and lawyer Masud Hasan Chowdhury are representing seven of the death-row convicts, including Khandaker Tabakkarul Islam, and one life-term convict. Speaking to Prothom Alo on Saturday, Chowdhury confirmed that seven appeals have been filed seeking to overturn both the trial and High Court verdicts. Akash Hossain, who received a life sentence, has applied for leave to appeal.
Chowdhury explained that if the leave-to-appeal is granted, a full hearing will be held. Typically, the Supreme Court hears appeals of both death and life-term convicts together. He expressed hope that the accused would receive justice in the highest court.
Mehedi Hasan’s lawyer, SM Masud Hossain Dolon, said his client filed an appeal last month, arguing that Mehedi was not present at the crime scene and was not involved in the planning of the murder. The appeal seeks to overturn the previous verdicts and acquit him.
Abrar Fahad, a student of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), was brutally beaten to death at a university dormitory five and a half years ago. The incident sparked nationwide outrage. All those convicted were members of the BUET unit of the student wing of the ruling party, which has since been banned on the campus.
On December 8, 2021, Dhaka’s Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 sentenced 20 individuals to death and five to life imprisonment. The High Court later upheld those sentences following hearings on death references, appeals, and jail appeals.