Rifat Murder: Condemned preparing to appeal
The families of all six convicts, including Ayesha Siddika Minni, in the Rifat murder case are preparing to file appeals with the High Court against their death sentence, as a copy of the verdict and other documents reached the HC from a Barguna court yesterday.
Officials of the Barguna court brought the documents to the HC, Md Saifur Rahman, special officer at the HC, told The Daily Star.
Earlier on September 30, Barguna District and Sessions Judge's Court sentenced Minni, the widow of slain Rifat Sharif, and five others to death for killing the youth in broad daylight in Barguna in June last year. It acquitted four other accused.
Yesterday, Minni's father Mozammel Hossain Kishore, who also received a copy of the 429-page verdict, met Supreme Court lawyer ZI Khan Panna at his chamber in the capital for filing an appeal against the verdict.
"I got all the documents today. We will file a petition soon," said Panna on Facebook live in the afternoon.
"Please pray for us so that we get justice," he added.
The families of the other five convicts are also preparing to file appeals with the HC, reports our Patuakhali correspondent.
As per rules, the HC officials will scrutinise the documents and then prepare paper books for hearing on the death reference.
If a lower court sentences any person to death in a case, its judgment is examined by the HC through hearing arguments for confirmation of the death sentence. The lower court has to send the case documents as death reference to the HC within seven days after delivering the verdict.
Apart from Minni, 19, the five other convicts are: Rakibul Hasan Rifat, 23, Al Kaiyum, 21, Mohaiminul Islam Sifat, 19, Rezwan Ali Khan Hridoy, 22, and Md Hasan, 22.
On June 26 last year, Rifat, 25, an internet service provider, was hacked by some youths in front of Barguna Government College in broad daylight. He died at Barishal Medical College Hospital later that day.
A video clip of the attack, believed to be captured on a mobile phone, went viral on social media, triggering public outrage.
The following day, the victim's father filed the murder case with Barguna Sadar Police Station, naming 12 as accused.
Minni, who was seen in the video clip screaming while desperately trying to prevent two men from attacking her husband with sharp weapons, was made the first witness in the case.
But after some days, her father-in-law demanded her arrest claiming that she herself was involved in the murder.
Following investigation, she was named as the seventh accused in the charge sheet.
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