Bangladesh
Minni High Court gives death reference to Minni and 6 others
Death references of six accused, including his wife Ayesha Siddique Minni, in the notorious Rifat Sharif murder case in Barguna have reached the High Court. Barrister Mohammad Saifur Rahman, Special Officer of the Supreme Court, confirmed the matter to Jago News.
On Sunday (October 4), Jahangir Alam Piku, the executor of the Barguna court, brought more than four hundred pages of documents including a copy of the verdict in the case to the High Court. As a rule, all proceedings in the death reference case are referred to the High Court for approval. The accused will be able to appeal within seven days after the verdict comes to the High Court.
Basically, if a convict is sentenced to death, it needs the approval of the High Court, which is known as a 'death reference' case. However, the convicts will have the opportunity to appeal and jail against the verdict of the trial court.
After receiving the document, the Death Reference Branch of the High Court examined and prepared the paper book of the case. Once the paperbook is prepared, the case is presumed to be ready for hearing. However, in some cases, the paperbook is prepared on the basis of priority under the direction of the Chief Justice.
Earlier on September 30, Barguna District and Sessions Judge Md. Ashaduzzaman announced the verdict in the case.
The court sentenced six of the 10 adult accused, including Minni, to death. Besides, he also fined six accused Rs 50,000. The other four were acquitted. The verdict said that if the convicts want to appeal, they have to do so within seven working days of the order.
The verdict further said that in order to approve the death sentence, documents including the verdict and sentence should be sent to the High Court Division in accordance with the provisions of Section 374 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The convicts were sentenced to death. Rakibul Hasan Rifat alias Rifat Faraji, Al Qayyum alias Rabbi Akon, Mohaiminul Islam Sifat, Rezwan Ali Khan Hridoy alias Tiktak Hridoy, Md. Hasan and Ayesha Siddique Minni.
Nayan Bond and Rifat Faraji's associates hacked and injured Rifat Sharif in front of his wife Minni in front of Calix Academy on Barguna Government College Road around 10:30 am on June 26, 2019. Rifat was taken to Barguna General Hospital in critical condition. He was admitted to Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital for advanced treatment. Rifat died while undergoing treatment there.
