The Ganajagaran Mancha says it would occupy Shahbagh until war crimes convict Abdul Quader Molla's execution.
Mancha spokesperson Imran H Sarker made the announcement on Wednesday after the Appellate Division adjourned the hearing on the 'maintainability' of Quader Molla's review petition until Thursday.It put on hold the execution of the war crimes convict until further notice.
“We will return home after a victory procession following (Molla’s) execution,” said Imran.
He vowed to launch a powerful movement to execute the verdict of the Jamaat leader if needed.
The Chamber Judge of the Supreme Court on Tuesday night had stopped the Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General’s execution until 10:30am Wednesday.
The full bench of the Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Md Muzammel Hossain started hearing the stay petition on the Jamaat-e-Islami leader’s execution around 10am on Wednesday.
Later, at 11.30am the Appellate Division started to hear on the 'maintainability' of the Molla's review petition.
It adjourned the hearing until Thursday.
The Ganajagaran Mancha occupied Shahbagh minutes after the Chamber Judge stopped Molla’s execution on Wednesday.
Shipping and Liberation War Affairs minister Shajahan Khan went to Shahbagh around 11.45am to express solidarity with the Mancha.
“We want trial of war criminals and we will go ahead with a movement for that if needed,” Shajahan said.
The sit-in at Shahbagh had caused an upsurge across Bangladesh 10 months ago when the International Crimes Tribunal had handed Molla the life sentence.
On Tuesday, as Dhaka Central Jail authorities were preparing to carry out Molla’s death sentence at one minute past Tuesday midnight, the Supreme Court Chamber Judge, Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, stopped the hanging after the Jamaat leader's lawyers moved a petition.
Soon after the court order agitated Ganajagaran Mancha leaders and activists declared their 'indefinite occupation' of Shahbagh.
The second war crimes tribunal had sentenced the Jamaat leader to life in prison on Feb 5 for war crimes during Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War.
Of the six charges against Molla, the ICT-2 acquitted him of one, and sentenced him to life for murder and rape in two charges. For the rest, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The life term, widely considered light for the Jamaat leader, created a wave of anger and frustration, drawing people to Shahbagh for mass protest.
The spontaneous vigil that continued for several more weeks at the Shahbagh intersection drew tens of thousands of protesters, shutting off traffic through the busy thoroughfare.
The protest spread to other districts across the country as men, women and children demanded maximum penalty for war criminals from the rally, dubbed as Ganajagaran Mancha— meaning people’s awakening.
Following the protests, the government filed an appeal with the Supreme Court against the sentence on Mar 3. Molla also appealed for acquittal.
Later, on Sept 17, the apex court raised the sentence from life term to death sentence. A death warrant for him was also issued on Sunday hours after the tribunal received a full verdict on his death sentence from the Supreme Court.
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