After a tribunal handed down death penalties to a couple for the rape and murder of 8-year-old Ramisa Akter in Dhaka’s Pallabi, lawyers and others present in the court expressed their satisfaction that justice was done.
The death-row convicts are Sohel Rana and his wife Swapna Akter, who had lived next door to the young girl, and were brought to the dock for the verdict on Sunday.
As the verdict was read out by Dhaka Metropolitan Child Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge Masrur Salekin, Sohel was seen praying, while Swapna shed silent tears.
Before the verdict was announced, Swapna was produced in court from Kashimpur Jail at 8:25am and Sohel from Keraniganj Central Jail at 8:45am. They were kept in the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court's jail.
Around 10:45am, Sohel was first taken to the courtroom amid tight security. Swapna was also taken to the courtroom about 10 minutes later. They had helmets on their heads and bulletproof jackets on their bodies.
