A Bangladesh appeals court on Monday upheld the death sentence for a former headteacher who burned alive a teen student after she accused him of sexual harassment, in a case that shocked the country. The court also upheld the death penalty for a co-conspirator, while acquitting 10 other defendants.
What did the Bangladesh High Court rule in the Nusrat Jahan Rafi case?
The High Court confirmed death sentences for two men, including former principal SM Siraj-Ud-Dowlah, in the 2019 murder of Nusrat Jahan Rafi. Judges reduced four other death sentences to life imprisonment and acquitted ten defendants, criticizing the lower court for issuing what it called wholesale death sentences.
Who was Nusrat Jahan Rafi and how did she die?
Nusrat was doused in kerosene and set on fire after she filed a harassment complaint against the head of her rural Islamic school. She suffered burns to 80 percent of her body and died in hospital four days later. Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal told the court that four of the attackers tied her hands and legs before dousing her with kerosene to ensure her death.
How did Bangladesh react to Nusrat's murder?
Nusrat's death triggered outrage across the nation, with protesters in the capital Dhaka staging days of demonstrations seeking exemplary punishment for the killers. A court originally sentenced 16 people to death in 2019. The High Court on Monday reversed part of that verdict, acquitting 10 and reducing four death sentences to life imprisonment.
What has Nusrat's family said since the verdict?
Nusrat's older brother, Mahmudul Hasan, said the family had been receiving messages threatening retaliation. He asked the government to ensure their security following the court's ruling.
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