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Published : 09 May 2026, 12:33 AM
The government will never allow any crime against humanity, genocide or anti-justice activities committed in the country to go unpunished, warns Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon.
Addressing a commemoration meeting at the National Museum auditorium in the capital on Friday, he said the government is “committed” to ensuring justice for all incidents, from the Liberation War genocide to the Shapla Chattar massacre.
The meeting was held in honour of those killed in the 2013 Shapla Chattar mayhem.
Hifazat-e Islam, a Qawmi madrasa-based organisation, was formed in 2010 to oppose the National Women Development Policy and the Education Policy.
It rose to prominence in 2013 after opposing the Shahbagh movement, which had demanded capital punishment for war criminals.
On May 5, 2013, Hifazat called a rally in Motijheel demanding punishment for bloggers opposing the Shahbagh movement, which spiralled into widespread violence.
A joint operation later that night cleared the area.
Human rights group Odhikar claimed 61 people were killed in the crackdown, while police said no one died during the night operation and that 11 were killed in clashes during the day.
Following the Awami League government’s fall in the July Uprising, a complaint concerning the Shapla Chattar incident was filed with the International Crimes Tribunal on Aug 20, 2024.
Investigators at the tribunal on May 3 claimed to have found evidence that 32 people were killed during the violence.
The minister said: “The parliament has already paid formal tributes to the martyrs of Shapla Chattar and has taken necessary steps to ensure justice for all the killings, including in the July Uprising.”
The BNP and its leaders and activists were intentionally “accused” after the Shapla Chattar incident, said Swapon.
At that time, misleading propaganda was carried out using the government-backed media and many BNP leaders were implicated in cases, he said.
