Nusrat Jahan Rafi: Sixteen accused get death penalty

Bangladesh: Nusrat Jahan Rafi finally gets justice. The sixteen accused get death penalty. She was burnt alive for raising her voice.

She was burnt alive after she accused her Headmaster Siraj Ud Doula for harassments.

A court in southern Bangladesh has announced death penalty for all sixteen accused in the murder of 19 year old Nusrat Jahan Rafi.

Nusrat died on 10th April, her verdict comes six months later.

She was doused in kerosene and set alight as she refused to take the charges of harassment back.

READ MORE: Justice for Nusrat Jahan: burnt alive for reporting sexual assault

The sixteen accused were

1. Madrasa Principal Siraj Ud Doula, 57
2. Fazil Nuruddin, 20 (student)
3. Shahadat Hossain Shamim, 20 (student)
4. Maksud Alam, 50 ( Sonagazi municipality ward-4 councillor and expelled acting general secretary of the local Awami League unit  )
5. Saifur Rahman Mohammad Zobayer, 21, (student)
6. Jabed Hossan alias Shakhawat Hossain, 19, (student)
7.  Hafiz Abdul Kader, 25, (Madrasa Hefzo teacher)
8. Afsar Uddin, 33 (English teacher)
9. Kamrunnahar Moni, 19 ( niece of suspect Shahadat Hossain Shamim and also an Alim examinee)
10. Umme Sultana Poppy, 19 (Alim examinee)
11. Mohammad Shamim , 20 , (Alim examinee)
12. Abdur Rahim Sharif, 20, (student)
13. Iftekhar Uddin Rana, 22, (student)
14. Imran Hossain Mamun, 22, (student)
15. Mohiuddin Shakil, 20, (student)
16. Ruhul Amin, 55 , Sonagazi upazila AL president

READ MORE: Nusrat Jahan Rafi: 16 people charged for burning her alive

The nineteen year old Nusrat Jaha Rafi died in April in Feni, a small town 100 miles outside Dhaka.

Her death raised a series of protest in the country as the incident had shocked the nation.

Such case in Bangladesh usually take years to reach a verdict, her case has been the quickest in the country.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had promised the culprits will not be spared.

A look into Nusrat Jana Rafi’s case

The nineteen year old reported harassment by her headmaster at the Sonagazi Islamia Senior Fazil Madrasa, on 27 March. She complained the headmaster who had called her in his office tried to touch her several times in an inappropriate manner. She managed to escape somehow.

Nusrat went to police station to report sexual harassment along her family.

She was filmed in the police station while being questioned, The video was leaked on social media by the police officer.

The headmaster was taken into police custody and things started getting worse for her.

Some of the male students along local politicians staged protest in front of the police station demanding release of the headmaster.

On 6th April Nusrat went to her madrassa for her final exams, companying her was her brother. Her brother was not allowed to come inside so she went alone.

She was lured on the roof top of the school by a female friend who lied about her friend being beaten up.

She found herself surrounded by four to five people in burqa who pressured her to withdraw her case.

When she refused she was doused with kerosene and set on fire.

Nusrat died of burns on 10th April and thousands of people attended her funeral.

Siraj Ud Doula’s lawyer, Mahfuzl Haque, said he will appeal the ruling. He believes evidence against his client was not properly scrutinized

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