Shahbagh waiting for ICT verdict

Hundreds of people have congregated at Shahbagh demanding maximum penalty for convicted war criminals ahead of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mohammad Kamaruzzaman’s verdict.

People started flocking the Prajanma Chattar at Shahbagh after the International Crimes Tribunal on Wednesday said it would deliver a verdict on the Jamaat Assistant Secretary General on Thursday.

Demonstrators at Shahbagh had started a sit-in from Wednesday chanting slogans demanding death for the Al-Badr leader and banning the Jamaat and its student affiliate Islami Chhatra Shibir.

Traffic on the TSC-bound street has come to a halt due to the protests.

Shakil Ahmed, one of the organisers of the movement, said they had been at Shahbagh from Wednesday night. He said the demonstrators would intensify their movement if they do not get a satisfactory verdict.

Thousands of people took to the capital Dhaka’s streets on Feb 5 protesting against the ‘lenient’ life sentence of Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla on war crimes charges.

The Ganajagaran Mancha has been holding various programmes to press for their demands. Faced with continuous demonstrations, the government recently amended an Act which allowed trying organisations or parties on war crimes charges.