It was 2013. Ten months before Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah, convicted of war crimes, was executed, thousands gathered in the Shahbagh area of Dhaka.
On February 5, 2013, protesters, especially young students, gathered in the national capital to demand justice.
Mollah, also known as the "butcher of Mirpur", was sentenced to death for supporting West Pakistan during Bangladesh's 1971 Liberation War.
Protesters were angry that Mollah had been handed life imprisonment instead of the death penalty for his role in killing hundreds of Bengali nationalists and intellectuals during the war.
His trial was conducted by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), created three years earlier by the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Given the seriousness of his crimes, many Bangladeshis believed the punishment was too lenient. In Shahbagh, students, activists, and ordinary people came together to call for severe action against Jamaat-e-Islami and the execution of Mollah.
In addition, protesters called on the government to bar his party from engaging in future political activities.
Protests continued across Bangladesh
Rallies, hunger strikes, and marches continued in Dhaka, and the movement quickly spread to other cities and towns across Bangladesh, with thousands joining. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter played a crucial role in preparing the youth and spreading awareness about the movement.
Streets were filled with protesters, regular activities in many areas were disrupted, and the movement paralysed parts of Dhaka for weeks. A nationwide three-minute silence was observed on February 12 as schools, colleges, shops, offices and even people on the streets paused to show support.
Government forced to revise decision
On February 15, one of the main protestors supporting the movement was killed outside his house. In response, people across the country held a black-badge protest to mourn his death.
On February 21, a mass rally was held where they announced their demands, including capital punishment for all war criminals and a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami.
On September 17, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh handed down the death penalty to Mollah, who was executed on December 12, 2013.
What happened after Mollah's execution
Following Mollah's execution, Jamaat supporters called nationwide strikes. Supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing reacted angrily, calling the execution politically motivated.
The unrest quickly escalated into a nationwide movement and violent protests, with roads and railways blocked, schools and offices closed, and businesses forced to shut down. Clashes between protesters and police turned deadly, as bomb and arson attacks damaged property and claimed several lives.
Mollah was the first person sentenced to death by the ICT. Some even called the tribunal controversial because most of the people on trial were from parties fundamentally opposed to Jamaat-e-Islami.
While many political allies of Mollah and international human rights groups criticised the execution, hundreds of people in Dhaka celebrated. They took to the streets, waved the national flag, and shouted slogans, seeing the execution as a form of justice for the 1971 Liberation War.
Selina Hossain, a writer whose family was tortured during the conflict, said, "It is a great gift to me as a person, and it is consistent with the spirit of our liberation war."
