Nusrat Jahan Rafi, 19, [photo], was doused with kerosene and set on fire on a rooftop in Feni, Bangladesh in April, 2019 after she reported her head teacher for sexual harassment

A Bangladesh court has sentenced 16 people to death for the murder of a student set on fire after accusing her teacher of sexual harassment.
Nusrat Jahan Rafi, 19, died in April in Feni, a small town around 100 miles outside the capital Dhaka, in a gruesome murder that shocked the country and led to a series of protests demanding justice for Nusrat
Those convicted of murder included the headteacher Nusrat had accused of harassment and two female classmates.
Headmaster Siraj Ud Daula, targeted in the complaint, is among those charged.
Police said Daula the head of the Sonagazi Islamia Senior Fazil Madrassa, where Rafi was a student, ordered her killing while in jail when she refused to withdraw her accusations against him.
Investigators described the preparations for the killing as being like a “military plan”.
The killing of the teenager in April, 2019 sparked mass protests in Bangladesh and shone a spotlight on the vulnerability of victims of sexual assault and harassment in the country.

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16 suspects have been charged in Bangladesh for burning a teenage girl alive at her Islamic school on March 6, in Feni, a small town 100 miles outside the capital, Dhaka […]

Madarasa principal Siraj Ud Daula who Rafi accused of sexual harassment allegedly has confessed masterminding the murder while in police custody

The trial has been one of the quickest in a country where such cases usually take years to conclude. Prosecutor Hafez Ahmed told reporters it proved “that nobody will get away with murder in Bangladesh”.
However, the quick conclusion of the case did little to ease her mother’s agony on Thursday.
“I can’t forget her for a moment,” Shirin Akhtar told news agency Reuters through tears upon hearing the verdict. “I still feel the pain that she went through.”
Lawyers for the defendants say they will appeal.
The investigation into Nusrat’s death revealed a conspiracy to silence her which included her own classmates and a number of powerful men from within the community.
Three teachers, including the headmaster, Siraj Ud Doula, who police say ordered the killing from prison after he was arrested under suspicion of harassment, were found guilty by the court on Thursday. Another two of the defendants convicted, Ruhul Amin and Maksud Alam, are local leaders of the ruling Awami League party.
A number of local police were found to have collaborated with those convicted in spreading false information that Nusrat had committed suicide. The officers were not among those tried for Nusrat’s murder.

Nusrat went to police to allege school principal headteacher Siraj Ud Doula [center] sexually harassed her last March. A month later she was killed in a gruesome case of arson he ordered from prison

Killers: Among those convicted were the actual killers, madarassa student suspects, Nur Uddin [left], and his brother Shahadat Hossain Shamim [right], who both copped guilty pleas and implicated 12 other suspects in their testimony

Conspiracy of silence: The student’s confessions implicated Awami League’s Sonagazi upazila unit’s President Ruhul Amin, [photo], who was also convicted in the crime

Nusrat’s family, who supported her decision to go to police back in March, have since been given police protection. Her brother Mahmudul Hasan Noman said they were still in fear for their lives.
“You already know they threatened me in public inside the courtroom,” he told reporters. “I am very afraid. I am urging the prime minister to ensure our security. And the police super should also keep a track on our wellbeing.”
However, the family welcomed the verdict, asking for the sentence to be carried out quickly. In Bangladesh, the death penalty is carried out by hanging
BBC reports that when the judge announced the verdict, some of the defendants burst into tears, while others shouted out across the courtroom that they had been denied justice.
But in Bangladesh, it is more usually women like Nusrat who are denied justice.
Sexual harassment in Bangladesh’s education institutions – including madrassas like the one Nusrat attended – is widespread, while the cost of speaking out is high.
She was lured to her school’s rooftop on 6 April this year, 11 days after she reported the headmaster to police for repeatedly touching her inappropriately.
Nusrat was then surrounded by four or five people wearing burqas, pressuring her to withdraw her complaint.
When she refused, they set her on fire.
According to police, they had hoped to make it look like a suicide. Instead, she managed to escape and get help.

Frenzied media surround the 16 alleged murder plotters as they are transported inside a prison van

But knowing she was badly hurt, she gave a statement which her brother filmed on his phone.
“The teacher touched me, I will fight this crime till my last breath,” she says, naming some of her attackers.
Nusrat, who had sustained burns to 80% of her body, died four days later, on 10 April.
Sexual harassment is thought to be relatively commonplace in Bangladesh: a recent report by charity ActionAid earlier this year found 80% of women working in Bangladesh’s garment industry have either seen or experienced sexual violence at work.
The narrative is reinforced by findings of women’s rights group Mahila Parishad, that in the first six months of 2019 alone, 26 women were killed after being sexually assaulted. There were reports of women 592 were allegedly raped. In 113 cases, victims said they were gang raped. However, analysts say with the vast number of rape incidents going unreported, the true number is far higher.
Speaking out like Nusrat is still uncommon as reporting sexual harassment carries risks because victims often face the backlash of prejudgment in their communities, cyber bullying, in person harassment and in some cases deadly violent attacks.

Women’s rights groups argue the case exposes a wider problem in Bangladesh society. Tagged ‘Justice for Nusrat Rafi’, a wave of protests [photo], swept Dhaka and Feni, the victim’s hometown 

Bring the the harassment and murder of Nusrat Rafi to adjudication was particularly unusual because she went to the police. her case was bolstered because they filmed her statement on a mobile phone – which was later leaked to the media that video went viral.
Ironically at the same time protesters took to the streets to demand the release of the headmaster, leading the victim’s family to fear for her safety.
The case sparked mass protests in Bangladesh and shone a spotlight on the vulnerability of victims of sexual assault and harassment in the country.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina publicly pledged that “none of the culprits will be spared from legal action”. Her interest in the case was praised by the family.
“We never imagined that justice will be ensured so fast by the prime minister,” Mahmudul Hasan Noman told reporters.
“We want to express our gratitude to her directly in person. Hopefully she will give us a chance to do it. ”
Activists say the killing exposed a culture of impunity around sex crimes. Whether more victims of sexual abuse will feel emboldened to come forward following Nusrat’s case remains to be seen.
The police initially dismissed the sexual harassment allegations, but under pressure of the public outcry laid charges against the 16 accused in May.
The specially fast-tracked hearing took just 62 days to complete.