Movement sparked by bloggers backed by Bangladeshis abroad
Expressing solidarity with the Shahbagh movement, which is widely reported in the foreign media, Bangladeshis in different countries, including UK, USA, and Middle East, staged protests demanding death sentence for war criminals.
From a rally at New York's Jackson Heights on Thursday, expatriate Bangladeshis demanded death penalty for Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah, say media reports. The Bangladeshi students in South Carolina supported the mass gathering through forming a human chain.
A procession was brought out in London. The protesters paraded streets from Brick Lane to London Shahid Minar demanding capital punishment for Mollah, who was jailed for life.
The Bangladeshi community in the Middle East also staged protests. In Saudi Arabia, Bangladeshi professionals gathered in a hotel to express their solidarity as street protests are banned there.
The BBC, CNN, and Al Jazeera reported that hundreds of thousands of university students and common people gathered at Shahbagh on Tuesday and vowed to continue the movement until the authorities agreed to their demand to execute Mollah.
Public outrage was fuelled by bloggers and social media activists who called for the mass gathering, the reports say, adding that demonstrations were held for the fourth day running on Friday in more than a dozen cities, including Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Rangpur and Khulna.
A CNN report headlined "War crime verdict rages Bangladesh" says outraged by a court verdict they considered too lenient, thousands took to the streets across Bangladesh Wednesday demanding death penalty for an Islamic party leader convicted of war crimes carried out more than four decades ago.
Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that at least 14,000 Bangladeshis gathered in central Dhaka to demand death penalty for an Islamist leader.
An Al Jazeera report says tens of thousands of protesters have rallied in cities across Bangladesh for a third consecutive day, demanding the execution of a religious political leader.
However, a BBC report carried out on Tuesday says the trial of Quader Mollah has sparked protests from supporters who accuse the government of pursuing a political vendetta.
Jamaat has called a national strike for Tuesday, and clashes between police and protesters broke out in Dhaka and several other cities, it says. Thousands marched through the capital, Dhaka, on Monday, demanding the release of their leaders, it adds.
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