A Sylhet court on Tuesday sentenced prime accused Faizul Hasan to life term imprisonment in a case over the attack on renowned writer Dr Muhammad Zafar Iqbal on the Shahajalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) campus in 2018.
Another accused in the case — Faizul’s friend Md Shohag Mia — was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment, while four others got acquittal from charges.
Those acquitted are Faizul’s father Maulana Atiqur Rahman, mother Minara Begum, brother Enamul Hasan, and maternal uncle Md Fazlul Haque.
Anti-Terrorism Special tribunal judge Nurul Amin handed down the judgment, said Mominur Rahman Titu, Special Public Prosecutor of the court.
On March 22, the court fixed Tuesday for delivering the judgment after hearing the arguments from both sides.
On March 10, the recording of testimonies in the sensational case was completed by recording statements of 35 of the 56 witnesses, said PP Mominur Rahman.
All the six accused in the case are currently in jail, he said.
On March 3, 2018, Faizul swooped on Prof Zafar Iqbal and stabbed him with a knife at the SUST Mukta Mancha during a celebration programme, 'Robofight,' of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) department.
SUST registrar Ishfaqul Hossain filed a case with Jalalabad Police Station the following day.
On March 8, a court placed Faizul on a 10-day remand for interrogation. Later Faizul gave a confessional statement before the court.
On July 26, police pressed charges against six people, including Faizul and Atiqur, in connection with the attack.
On October 4, 2018, the official trial in the case began by framing charges against the accused.
