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Published : 09 Apr 2026, 09:40 PM
Both the prosecution and defence have expressed dissatisfaction and signalled plans to move the High Court (HC) following the International Crimes Tribunal’s (ICT) verdict in the Abu Sayed murder case.
The tribunal on Thursday sentenced two police officers to death and three others to life imprisonment, while 25 other suspects received varying jail terms for the killing of the Rangpur Begum Rokeya University student during the July Uprising.
Sayed’s family and the prosecution argued that senior police officials and key political figures were handed lenient sentences.
Sayed’s brother Abu Hossain told reporters that while the death sentences were appropriate for the direct shooters, the masterminds escaped the gallows.
"Senior police officials and others received lesser punishments. They acted on the orders of superiors, yet those superiors were not sentenced to death. We will appeal after consulting our lawyers," he said.
The victim’s eldest brother and complainant Ramzan Ali specifically demanded the death penalty for former BRUR Chhatra League president Pomel Baruah.
"The family is unhappy with the verdict for Pomel. We believe the senior officials also deserved harsher sentences," he added.
The defence team, led by Azizur Rahman Dulu, who represented those who were sentenced to death Amir Hossain, a former police officer, and constable Sujan Chandra Roy labelled the judgement "political" and vowed to seek a full acquittal in the High Court.
Azizur raised several forensic objections, claiming the prosecution failed to prove the cause of death beyond doubt.
"There were no bullet holes in the seized T-shirt of the dead, and no cavitation (entry wounds) was found on the body. No X-ray or radioscopic tests were conducted," he argued.
He also alleged that the tribunal did not summon technical specifications for the 12-bore shotgun cartridges used.
"The fact that the convicts were acquitted on most charges shows a partial victory for our arguments," Azizur said.
Chief Prosecutor Aminul Islam confirmed that all 30 suspects in the case were convicted under principles of superior command responsibility, aiding and abetting, and joint enterprise.
The chief prosecutor noted that 25 witnesses testified during the trial to establish the roles of the police and BCL activists in the fatal shooting of Sayed on Jul 16, 2024.
