On April 9, 2013, BUET student Mesbahuddin, reportedly influenced by the sermons of a radical imam, brutally attacked fellow student Arif Raihan Dwip inside a campus dormitory in broad daylight.

Dwip, a passionate anti-war crimes activist and leader of the Bangladesh Student League’s (BSL) BUET unit, succumbed to his injuries after fighting for his life for over 70 days.

Marking the anniversary, former and current BUET students paid tribute at a memorial at Nazrul Islam Hall on campus.

On social media, BSL leaders and activists expressed their frustration and anger at the lack of justice for the perpetrators and masterminds behind the attack. They called the assault a systematic effort to weaken the student body.

Standing for justice and demanding war crimes trials cost Dwip his life, speakers at the memorial said. He was attacked by radical forces defending war criminals, merely for echoing the cries of millions affected by the 1971 atrocities, they added.

Friends, seniors, and family members of Dwip continue to face vilification. Over the years, platforms like Basherkella, Hizb ut-Tahrir, and activists of Islami Chhatra Shibir have glorified Dwip’s killer while vilifying Dwip himself, they said.

In recent months, amid increased efforts by the outlawed Hizb ut-Tahrir to recruit students, Dwip’s killer has been branded a “hero,” while Dwip has been labelled an “enemy of Islam.”

The Sector Commanders Forum previously condemned efforts by Jamaat and its student wing, Shibir, to glorify war criminals and smear those advocating for war crimes trials.

Former BUET student and BSL leader Tonmoy Ahmed, now ALBD Web Team coordinator, was also attacked by Shibir activists, he says. He continues to face vilification, he says.

A decade has passed, yet Mesbahuddin remains free, despite having confessed to the killing under the imam’s provocation. He was arrested but later released on bail, much to the dismay of Dwip's peers and family.

During the peak of the war crimes trial in 2013, Dwip was active in Ganajagaran Mancha, which spearheaded the call for justice against war criminals. Islamist parties, including Hefazat-e-Islam and Jamaat-e-Islami, branded participants of the movement as “enemies of Islam.”

The lack of justice only emboldens radical elements and perpetuates a culture of impunity, said Dwip’s friends.