Barguna judge finds Minny as guilty as the killers of her husband Refat

A Barguna court has sentenced Aysha Siddika Minny to death along with five killers of her husband Refat Shorif for conspiring with them in the daylight murder.

In his ruling on Wednesday, District and Sessions Judge Md Asaduzzaman noted that the prosecution has been “able to prove beyond doubt” that Minny and the others schemed to kill Refat.

Aysha Siddika Minny (File photo)

Aysha Siddika Minny, one of the accused in the daylight murder of her husband Refat Shorif, arrives at the court in Barguna on her father’s motorcycle ahead of the verdict in the closely-watched case, Sept 30, 2020.

“When some people commit a crime together to achieve an identical objective, they share the responsibility for the offence. So, the accused in this case bear the same responsibility for the murder of Refat Shorif,” the judge said.

The five others are Rakibul Hasan alias Rifat Forazi, 23, Al Qayum alias Rabbi Akon, 21, Mohaiminul Islam Sifat, 19, Rezwan Ali Khan Hridoy alias Tiktok Hridoy, 22, and Md Hasan, 19.

Sabbir Ahmed alias Nayon Bond, the key accused and so-called lover of Minny, was killed in a “shootout” with the law enforcement days after the incident.

Refat was hacked to death on a Barguna road on Jun 26. A video of Minny's desperate attempts to save her husband later went viral on social media.

The assailants launched the attack when the couple were returning home from Barguna Government College, of which Minny was a first-year undergraduate student.

The following day, Refat’s father Dulal Shorif accused 12 people in the case over the murder.

Refat Shorif

File Photo

The case subsequently took a new turn after Dulal accused Minny of having a hand in the killing.

Judge Asaduzzaman said the convicts were unworthy of mercy because the killing of Refat was “more brutal than medieval barbarism”.

The judge also expressed concern that the youth may take the wrong path if the convicts are not handed exemplary punishment. “People of all ages in the country and abroad watched the cruelty,” he said.