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On October 9th, 2019 at the Bangladesh University of Engineering, Abrar Fahad was taken from his dorm room and beaten for over four hours. After being tortured for four hours, other students at the University saw him still alive and helped him to the hospital, but he died shortly after that. Groups of students, alumni, and teachers then protested for the death penalty of those guilty of killing Fahad. Prior to this, Fahad wrote a post on social media that criticized the government’s decisions over a water-sharing detail with India, which witnesses believe is the cause of his death and beating. Members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League have used violence and torture towards other students before, and it is reported that they have a connection to Fahad’s death as well.
On different media platforms, such as Twitter, people have political debates all the time, usually never leading to death though. Trump, other officials, and even citizens post their opinions publicly all the time. Even though one person’s opinions can be considered absurd to another person, holding them against their will and killing them is not even thought about. Arguments on social media get dirty, but not the point where someone is killed because their opinion is different than someone else's.
Questions:
1) While some people believe those guilty of killing should be punished with the death penalty, what do you think is an appropriate punishment for the killers?
2) What should happen to the Bangladesh Chhatra League? Is it right for them to remain a group when they have used multiple acts of violence and torture against other students?
3) Are the killers’ actions justified in any way?
4) Did Fahad make a mistake by posting his opinion online? Or did Fahad do nothing wrong?
I personally believe that the murderers deserve the death penalty, but I don’t know if that is the appropriate punishment for these people that murdered Fahad because the death penalty may have a different significance in Bangladesh’s culture. I think that the Bangladesh Chhatra League does still deserve to be a group and be able to voice their opinions because it's not like everyone in the group commits violence or conspires to commit violence, rather it is a few radical bad actors. I wouldn’t really consider Fahad expressing his opinion as wrong because everyone should have a reasonable right to freedom of speech and no one should be killed for simply expressing an opinion, but this freedom of speech doesn’t exist everywhere in the world, so people should be aware of the consequences of their actions whether those consequences should be what they are or not. Just because something should be one way doesn’t mean that it is that way in reality, and at the end of the day, reality is what is most important.
ReplyDeleteI believe the murders should be punished accordingly, whether that be through the death penalty or life imprisonment. The Bangladesh Chhatra League should also be disbanded and investigated immediately for any other crimes or discrepancies they may have committed or other people they have hurt. If anything, non-perpetrators or supporters of the violence of their other members should form another group apart from the League. There is no justification for brutal torture and murder and most certainly not in response to the post Fahad had every right to post and express his opinion on.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the fourth question, I do not think Fahad did anything wrong whatsoever by posting his personal opinions. Although in Bangladesh, such outspoken posts about the government could be seen as offensive or highly controversial because of the fact that the country may be more conservative overall, Fahad still has the right to express what he believes no matter if it speaks against the government of his country. In terms of the punishment for those beating Fahad, I do believe that an adequate consequence would be the death penalty. No person who criticizes percieved wrongdoings of their country should be treated in such a way. Demonstrations and protests occur very often in the United States and no such harsh or detrimental action is taken against them. They are solely attempting to reform certain policies or actions the government is considering/taking in order to make society a more accepted/safe place to live. The people of Fahad's country should take his criticism as a perspective to be considered, not one to be acted against upon simply because it violates or disagrees with their own personal beliefs.
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty, if the person deserves the death penalty then they should receive the death penalty. When one decides to engage in the extremely inhumane act of murder, the individual should know that there will be consequences - more often than not, this consequence is the death penalty. As far as Fahad's social media posts in relation to his murder, I think that he has the right to post what he desires. Social media has become a platform where people share their ideas whether it be political or not and although another person may not agree with one's opinions, they should still be reflected... Furthermore, maybe someone disagrees with another persons opinions on a political issue but that in no way gives them the right to commit murder because of that (actions are not justified) - BUT if they do, that in turn is where the death penalty comes into play.
ReplyDeleteThis article hurts my heart because of the way that humans acted against human. I believe these people acted out of a mob mentality and should be punished by not with fatal force. It really is a tragic story, but it happens everyday to people all over the world and there is not often justice for it. I think that it is important for people to continue speaking up and we don't let deaths like this be forgotten, it is a step toward the right direction and hopefully one day we will get there.
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ReplyDeleteI personally believe that the murderers should receive a sentence fitting for their crime which would be life imprisonment or the death penalty. As for the Bangladesh Chhatra League, they should be thoroughly investigated and disbanded to ensure that this horrible act never happens again. I understand that they try to express their political views, but their methods of how they try to achieve their goals is unacceptable. Therefore, I believe the killers actions are not justified in anyway. In response to the last question, I think if you are in countries that have a limited version of freedom of speech, then you should be careful of what you say or post. However, that does not mean that he did anything wrong because one should be able to speak whatever their perspective might be.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the murderers should receive the death penalty for their horrendous actions against Fahad. What they did was absolutely horrible and needs to be punished accordingly. Even if they do not receive the death penalty, I would expect life inprisonment for these actions. I believe that the Bangladesh Chhatra League should be allowed to remain as a group since the actions of a few do not represent the group as a whole. However, with a pattern of attacks linked to the Bangladesh Chhatra League, they definitely need to look into some of their members and take preventative measures to prevent this from happening again.
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