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Published : 17 Jul 2026, 02:56 AM
Four convicts including two policemen sentenced to death and imprisonment in the murder of Begum Rokeya University student Abu Sayed during the July Uprising have challenged the verdicts against them.
Their lawyer moved the Appellate Division on Thursday morning, seeking their acquittal.
The convicts are then assistant sub-inspector Amir Hossain and former constable Sujan Chandra Roy, who were sentenced to death, and Imran Chowdhury Akash and Rakibul Hasan Russell, who were jailed.
“Another convict, Anwar Parvez Apel, a contractual employee of the Proctor’s Office at the university, has not been released yet as he is arrested in another case, although his sentence is considered as time served in custody,” said Dulu.
Speaking of the petition on behalf of the four convicts, the lawyer said: “There were no bullet holes in the T-shirt worn by Abu Sayed at the time of the incident and no bullet wounds were found on his body.”
He claimed that X-rays or radiographic examinations did not prove the presence of bullets or cartridge parts in the body.
According to him, the tribunal ruled without granting the request to summon the technical specifications of the 12-bore shotgun cartridges used in the incident. “These issues have been made one of the grounds for seeking acquittal in the appeal.”
The state, however, says they are satisfied with the tribunal’s verdict and will not appeal in this case.
Although an appeal has been filed against the verdict for four convicts, Abu Sayeed's family is going to challenge the "lenient" sentences against several others.
Abu Sayed's elder brother Abu Hossain told bdnews24.com, "We’ll definitely appeal."
The International Crimes Tribunal announced the verdict on Apr 9, after evaluating witness accounts, video footage and other evidence.
It sentenced 30 suspects to varying terms based on the statements of 25 witnesses.
