17-year-old placed on 7-day remand in police killing case

According to the birth registration, Hasanatul Islam Fayaz is a little over 17 as he was born on April 19, 2007. He achieved a Golden A+ under the Dhaka Board in the 2024 SSC exams from Shamsul Haque Khan School and College of Dhaka's Matual.

Recently, he has been made as the 16th accused among 17 in a case related to the killing of a police member near Matuail Hospital during the recent protest movement centring reform in quota system in government jobs.

Fayaz was presented in a lower court in the capital today as an accused in the case filed on charge of the murder of the police member, concealment of his body, and theft of his motorcycle.

In the case file, Fayaz's age has been listed as 19 years.

Fayaz's lawyer, Estiyak Hossain, told TBS, "According to the birth registration and SSC certificate, Fayaz is 17 years, 3 months, and 8 days old. In the case, when the police requested a 10-day remand for Fayaz, we filed a petition to cancel the remand due to his age and requested that the case be transferred to a juvenile court. But, the court expressed its inability to do so."

He went on to say, "In this context, we requested that instead of granting remand, the case be registered, and other methods of proving his age be followed, and that he be sent to a juvenile detention centre. The court also expressed its inability to do this and granted a seven-day remand. I believe the seven-day remand for Fayaz is not justifiable."

Asked by TBS about the issue, Supreme Court lawyer Israt Hasan said, "If someone's age is even one day less than 18 years, according to the 2013 Child Rights Act, he/she should be considered a child, and his/her trial should proceed in a juvenile court. Even if someone's age is stated as 18 in the certificate, but they claim to be younger than 18, they cannot be tried with adults until their age is verified."

He added, "If Fayaz is granted a seven-day remand today (Saturday) based solely on the case file, I would be violating his fundamental rights. Moreover, this is not only a violation of human rights but also a clear breach of Bangladeshi law."

'Missing for days'

Fayaz's uncle, Hasnain Ahmed, talking to TBS on the court premises, said, "My nephew is a very meritorious student. He received a Golden A+ in the SSC exams from the Dhaka Board this year and has been admitted to Dhaka College. Additionally, Fayaz has been enrolled in various academic courses to advance his HSC preparation."

On the night of the 24th, a group of plainclothes officers came to his home at Matuail, saying they needed to question Fayaz, and took him away, said Hasnain.

"They claimed they were from the Jatrabari police station. But when we contacted the station, they said he was not there. For the past three days, we had been searching for him at various police stations and DB offices, but we could not find him anywhere.

"We had been searching for him daily at the court and at the doors of various police stations. Finally, after four days of being missing, he was brought to court today (Saturday).

"He has never been involved in any movement. He is only 17 years old, yet he has been made an accused in a murder case. During a brief moment when he was being taken from jail to court, I spoke with him. He informed me that he has been subjected to inhumane physical and mental torture over the past few days."