Sixteen Bangladeshis have been sentenced to death for the murder of a 19-year-old student, Nusrat Jahan Rafi, who was burned to death in April after complaining of being sexually harassed by her school principal.
Among those found guilty were former members of the school’s administration, teachers and pupils – 12 of the 16 having confessed to participating in the killing in which Rafi was lured on to the school’s roof, doused in paraffin and set alight.
The case was heard at the women and children repression prevention tribunal in Feni, where the judge, Mamunur Rashid, delivered the verdicts to a packed, chaotic courtroom after a fast-tracked trial.
The death sentences will be sent to the country’s high court for confirmation and are likely to be appealed.
Rafi was targeted after refusing to withdraw an allegation that she had been sexually harassed by the headteacher.
Speaking after the verdict was announced, the prosecutor, Hafez Ahmed, said: “The verdict proves that nobody will get away with murder in Bangladesh. We have the rule of law.”
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Local media reported that police were deployed in and around Rafi’s home for the security of the family members amid fears of reprisals.
Rafi had been a student at the Sonagazi Senior Fazil Madrasa when she complained of being harassed by Siraj ud-Daula, on 27 March. After she first went to the police to report the sexual harassment a video was leaked showing a police chief registering her complaint but dismissing it as “not a big deal”.
Despite this, the headteacher was arrested and sent to jail, while his family pressured Rafi’s family to drop the complaint.
The prosecution alleged he had issued orders from from his jail cell to accomplices – including two local ruling Awami League party leaders and several seminary students – to kill the student if she did not retract her complaint.
According to the evidence, after Rafi arrived at the school to take an exam, a classmate named Poppy lured her to a rooftop, where five others – including three of her classmates – tied her hands and feet with a scarf before setting her on fire.
Source: Nusrat Jahan Rafi: 16 sentenced to death over Bangladesh murder
