The High Court Division is set to deliver its verdict on Sunday in the death reference and appeals related to the murder of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology student Abrar Fahad.

Abrar was beaten to death inside his dormitory on October 7, 2019, by leaders of the BUET unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League after he criticised government’s agreements with India in a Facebook post.

On February 25, the High Court bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain concluded hearings on the death reference for 20 convicts sentenced to death and the appeals of five others serving life-term imprisonment.

The bench stated that the verdict could be delivered any day.

The investigation revealed that Abrar, a bright and outspoken student from a village in Kushtia, had no political affiliations but was targeted for his critical views.

Abrar’s father, Barkat Ullah, filed a case against 19 students, with the police later submitting a charge sheet against 25.

On December 8, 2021, Dhaka’s Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 sentenced 20 of the 25 accused to death and handed life imprisonment to the remaining five.

The High Court received the death reference in January 2022.

The present interim government initiated proceedings in the high-profile Abrar Fahad murder case, which sparked nationwide and international outrage, marking a turning point in the country’s political landscape.

The students sentenced to death by the tribunal are — Mehedi Hasan Russel, Muntassir Al  Jemi, Khandaker Tabakkarul Islam Tanvir, ASM Nazmus Sadat, Md Mizanur Rahman Mizan, Shamsul Arefin Rafat, Md Shamim Billah, Hossain Mohammad Toha, Md Moniruzzaman Monir, Md Mehedi Hasan Robin (aka Shanta), Muzahidur Rahman Muzahid, Anik Sarker Apu, Md Meftahul Islam Jeon, Ifti Mosharraf Sakal, SM Mahmud Setu, Morshed Amatya Islam, Md Mazedur Rahman Mazed, Morshed-Uz-Zaman Mondal Jisan (absconding), Ehteshamul Rabbi Tanim (absconding), and Mostaba Rafid (absconding).

The appeals include challenges filed by the five former students sentenced to life imprisonment, as well as 17 detained death-row convicts out of the 20 sentenced to death.

The five accused who have been awarded life imprisonment are Muhtasim Fuad, Md Akash Hossain, Moaj Abu Hurayra, Amit Saha, and Istiak Ahammed Munna.