A Bangladesh court has sentenced 16 people to death over the murder of a 19-year-old female student who was burnt alive in April.

Key points: There were a series of demonstrations after Nusrat Jahan Rafi's murder

There were a series of demonstrations after Nusrat Jahan Rafi's murder Some of her classmates are among the 16 people sentenced to death

Some of her classmates are among the 16 people sentenced to death Her death came after she made a sexual harassment complaint to local police against the principal of her school

The horrific incident saw Nusrat Jahan Rafi doused in kerosene and set on fire after refusing to withdraw a sexual harassment complaint against the head teacher of the seminary she attended.

"The verdict proves that nobody will get away with murder in Bangladesh. We have the rule of law," prosecutor Hafez Ahmed told reporters in the crowded courtroom.

Rafi was lured to the rooftop of the seminary where her attackers pressed her to withdraw the complaint she had filed with police.

When she refused, she was tied up, doused in kerosene and set on fire.

She suffered burns to 80 per cent of her body and died in hospital five days later, on April 10.

Her death triggered outrage and also highlighted an alarming rise in sexual harassment cases in the South Asian country of 165 million people.

Protesters in the capital Dhaka staged days of demonstrations seeking "exemplary punishment" for the killers.

Nusrat Jahan Rafi's death sparked protests across Bangladesh. ( AP: Mahmud Hossain Opu )

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had promised to prosecute all those involved.

'No big deal'

Rafi had gone to police in late March to report the sexual harassment, and a leaked video showed the local police station chief registering her complaint but dismissing it as "not a big deal".

At the time, police said one of the 18 people initially arrested had accused the school's principal of ordering the attack.

The teacher, "told them to put pressure on Rafi to withdraw the case or kill her if she refused", Senior Police Superintendent Mohammad Iqbal, who led the investigation, had told AFP.

Superintendent Iqbal had also said some of those arrested were Rafi's classmates and that they had tied her up with a scarf before setting her on fire.

"The plan was to pass the incident off as a suicide. But it fell through after Rafi managed to come downstairs while on fire because the scarf burnt and freed her hands and feet," he said.

Activists said the murder exposed a culture of impunity surrounding sex crimes against women and children, and the fact those who reported harassment often suffered a backlash.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 1 minute 49 seconds 1 m 49 s Father of Nusrat Jahan Rafi and protesters demand justice

Prosecutions are also rare in cases of rape and sexual assault.

After the murder, Bangladesh ordered about 27,000 schools to set up committees to prevent sexual violence.

Defence lawyers said they would appeal against Thursday's verdict in the High Court.

AFP

