USF to Award Posthumous Doctorates to Slain Students Limon and Brishti

In a tribute to the two Bangladeshi PhD students who were victims of a brutal double homicide, the University of South Florida (USF) has decided to award posthumous doctoral degrees to Jamil Ahmed Limon and Nahida Sultana Brishty. The degrees will be formally conferred during the university's spring convocation on May 9.

USF said more than 8,000 degrees will be conferred between May 7 and May 10, including 353 doctoral degrees, with Bristy and Limon to be awarded posthumous doctorates.

A moment of silence will be observed at the beginning of each ceremony, while two empty chairs with regalia will be placed on the arena floor during the doctoral ceremony at 9:00 am on May 8 in tribute to the slain students.

Their names will also be added to an on-campus memorial honouring students who died during their studies.

The USF authorities communicated this decision to the Bangladesh Consulate in Miami via a formal letter yesterday, May 5. The university has requested a representative from the consulate to attend the special ceremony and accept the honors on behalf of the grieving families. Accordingly, a representative from the Miami Consulate will be present at the convocation to receive the posthumous doctorates for Jamil and Brishty.

The first funeral prayer (Janaza) for Nahida Sultana Brishty is scheduled to take place tomorrow, May 6, at 2:00 PM in Tampa. Following the prayers, her remains will be sent to Bangladesh on May 7. Her body is expected to arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on May 9 at 8:40 AM via Dubai.

Jamil Ahmed Limon, 27, was a graduate of Khulna University and was pursuing a PhD in Geography, Environmental Science, and Policy at the University of South Florida. Nahida Sultana Brishty, 27, an alumna of Noakhali Science and Technology University (NSTU), was in the United States for higher studies in Chemical Engineering.

The two students went missing on April 16. After their phones were found switched off and families could not establish contact, local police were notified.

The investigation led to the arrest of Jamil’s roommate, Hisham Abugharbieh, a US citizen, who was taken into custody from his family home. Following his interrogation, Jamil’s dismembered remains were recovered on April 24 inside several black trash bags in the Howard Frankland Bridge area of Florida. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the discovery of Jamil’s body, and Brishty’s remains were recovered in a similar condition a few days later.

The accused, Abugharbieh, is currently facing two counts of first-degree murder as the legal proceedings continue in the Florida court system.