The family of late Abu Sayed and fellow activists from the July Uprising on Wednesday rejected a special tribunal’s verdict in the Abu Sayed killing case as insufficient, calling for the sentences to be reconsidered and for the death penalties to be carried out without delay.

Their reaction came hours after the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced two former police officers to a death sentence and three others to life imprisonment.

Mokbul Hossain, late Abu Sayed’s father, said he was not satisfied with the judgment. While a former constable received the death penalty, he alleged that senior officials who had ordered the shooting had evaded proper accountability. “We’ll decide on an appeal after discussing with family members,” he said.

Sayed’s mother, Monowara Begum, said the court had failed to deliver proper justice for her son. She maintained that several additional defendants should have been sentenced to death.

Speaking on the campus of Begum Rokeya University (BRU), Shamsur Rahman Sumon — who had stood alongside Sayeed during the protests — criticised what he described as “lenient sentences” for certain individuals implicated in grave offences. He demanded the expedited execution of those who received the maximum penalty.

Sumon also noted that the punishment handed to Pomel Barua, who was the president of the university’s Chhatra League unit during the protests in 2024 and was accused of attacking students, was too light.

Ashikur Rahman Ashik, another activist present with Abu Sayed on the day of the shooting, called the incident a clear case of police killing. He pointed to Sub‑Inspector Imran, whom he accused of hurling stones at students and directing the assault, yet who was “excluded from the case”. “We hope the court will take this into account,” Ashik said.

Arman Hossain, a witness in the case, said the verdict fell short of expectations because it imposed reduced penalties on defendants accused of attacking students on July 11, 12 and 16. “We expect the honourable court will note this and reconsider the verdict,” he said.

Earlier in the day, ICT-2 convicted and sentenced two former policemen to death in a crimes against humanity case filed over the killing of BRU student Abu Sayed during the July Mass Uprising.

The two death-row convicts were former Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Amir Hossain and former Constable Sujan Chandra Roy.

The three-member tribunal, headed by Justice Nazrul Islam Mazumder, pronounced the judgment in the afternoon.

In his pre-verdict remarks, the tribunal chairman said that on the day of the incident, Abu Sayed stood with his two hands outstretched. “He believed those standing before him were human, but in reality, they had lost their humanity. They shot at him,” Justice Mazumder said.