13 Suspects Charged With Lynching a Boy in Bangladesh

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Thirteen men were charged Sunday for the July 8 mob killing of a 13-year-old boy in the Bangladeshi city of Sylhet.

Samiul Alam Rajon was brutally beaten to death after a group of men accused him of stealing a bicycle rickshaw. An autopsy found he had suffered 64 separate injuries.

While “mob justice” attacks on suspected thieves are not uncommon in Bangladesh, this particular case sparked outrage nationwide after a video of the alleged perpetrators laughing during the attack went viral, drawing hundreds of protesters to the streets of Sylhet.

Ten of the men admitted to their role in the crime and have since been arrested in Bangladesh, the BBC reports. Three more who fled the country shortly after the attacks were charged in absentia.

Kamrul Islam, the prime suspect in the case, is allegedly hiding out in Saudi Arabia, according to the BBC. Bangladeshi officials are hoping the country will process his extradition soon.

[BBC]

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