The University of South Florida has decided to confer posthumous doctoral degrees on Bangladeshi PhD student Jamil Ahmed Limon and Nahida Sultana Bristy, who were the prey of brutal killing in the United States.
The degrees will be awarded at the university's spring commencement ceremony on May 9.
In a letter, the university authorities formally informed the matter to the Bangladesh Consulate in Miami on May 5, requesting a representative to receive the honors on behalf of the victims' families.
A consulate representative will attend the ceremony and accept the recognition on behalf of the slain students' families.
Meanwhile, the first funeral prayer for Bristy is scheduled to be held in Tampa on May 2 at 2PM. Her body is expected to be flown to Dhaka via Dubai on May 7, arriving on May 9 at 8:40AM.
Limon, 27, a graduate of Khulna University, was pursuing a PhD in geography, environment and policy at the University of South Florida. Bristy, also 27, was a former student of Noakhali Science and Technology University and was studying chemical engineering in the US.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Limon's body was recovered on April 24 from several black garbage bags near the Howard Frankland Bridge area in Florida following the suspect’s interrogation.
Nahida Sultana Brishty had also been missing since April 16. On April 24, authorities found partial remains of Brishty in a water body in Florida.
