In 2015, the trial court sentenced five people to death and six others to life in prison— all of them activists of the university unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League or BCL, the ruling Awami League’s student affiliate. The High Court upheld life imprisonment for molecular biology student Nazmus Sakib Tapu and philosophy student Ishtiak Mehbub Arup. After the death of Zubair, a student-teacher movement led to the resignation of then Vice-Chancellor Professor Sharif Enamul Kabir. The murder of Zubair is a result of unethical activities by student fronts active in public universities, the trial court said in its observation. Death sentences that trial courts issue are forwarded as death references to the High Court for approval.

Source: bd News24 January 24, 2018 09:30 UTC