Sun Mar 16 10:54:07 UTC 2025: ## Bangladesh High Court Upholds Death Sentences for BUET Students in 2019 Murder
**DHAKA, BANGLADESH** – The Bangladesh High Court on Sunday upheld the death sentences of 20 students from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) for the 2019 murder of fellow student Abrar Fahad. The court also upheld life imprisonment sentences for five other students involved in the crime.
Fahad, a second-year electrical and electronics engineering student, was lynched in his dormitory after allegedly posting criticism of the government on Facebook. The 25 students involved, all members of the now-disbanded Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the Awami League, beat him to death with cricket bats and other blunt objects over a period of six hours.
A Dhaka court initially handed down the death sentences in December 2021. The High Court’s decision comes after hearing appeals from the convicts and a mandatory death reference. While Fahad’s family expressed satisfaction with the swift verdict, defense lawyers have indicated they will appeal to the Appellate Division.
One of the death row inmates, Muntasir Al Jamie, escaped from Kashimur Central Jail last August along with 86 other death row convicts amidst widespread civil unrest. The escape occurred a day after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government following massive student-led protests. The BUET and BCL expelled all those involved immediately following Fahad’s murder.
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