The events that sparked the rallies began during the shahbag protest when Bangladeshis rallied on the streets to demand capital punishment for Abdul Quader Molla, a war criminal of the Bangladesh liberation war and a leader of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. During the protests, Ahmed Rajib Haider, a blogger who was critical of Jamaat-e-Islami, was stabbed to death by Jamaat activists Another controversial author, blogger &amp; online activist named Sunnyur Rahman, popularly known as 'Nastik Nobi' (Atheist Prophet) in the blog community, was also stabbed on 7 March 2013.