page_title: 2013 Shahbag protests
section_title: Reaction from Bangladeshis abroad
hierarchical_section_title: 2013 Shahbag protests / Reactions / Reaction from Bangladeshis abroad
caption_attribution_description: English: The Bangladeshi community in Stuttgart, Germany express their solidarity with the Shahbag Protest 2013 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
context_page_description: On 5 February 2013, protests began in Shahbag, Bangladesh following demands for capital punishment for Abdul Quader Mollah, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment, and convicted on five of six counts of war crimes by the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh. Later demands included banning the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami party from politics including election and a boycott of institutions supporting the party.
  Protesters considered Mollah's sentence too lenient, given his crimes. Bloggers and online activists called for additional protests at Shahbag and joined the demonstration.
  Ruling party Awami League supported the protests. However, main opposition party the Bangladesh Nationalist Party initially expressed its support for Jamaat-e-Islami, a political ally. But, the BNP cautiously welcomed the Shahbag protest, while warning the government not to make political mileage from a movement demanding capital punishment for war criminals. A counter-protest, questioning the validity of the tribunal and the protest movement and demanding release of those accused and convicted, was called by Jamaat-e-Islami.
context_section_description: Bangladeshis abroad have expressed solidarity with the protests through social media websites Facebook and Twitter. Demonstrations of solidarity have also taken place in Australia, Malaysia, Germany, and the United States.
  Bangladeshis in New York City joined in a symbolic protest on 9 February at Diversity Plaza in Jackson Heights. A mass sit-in was organised by the Bangladeshi community in Sydney on 10 February at the International Mother Language Monument in Sydney Ashfield Park. At a rally at the Angel Statue in Melbourne, demonstrators signed a petition to Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina demanding death for war criminals. Bangladeshis in Taiwan also expressed their solidarity with the Shahbag protests on 10 February.
  On 10 February, Bangladeshi students gathered at Rutgers University in New Jersey to express solidarity with the Shahbag protests. Bangladeshi residents joined the students to express their support. Bangladeshi students at the University of Delaware and nearby residents demonstrated their solidarity with the Shahbag movement on 15 February at a busy intersection in Newark, Delaware. A candlelight vigil was held that evening for Rajib, a blogger and activist who was killed several hours before the demonstration.
  In London, protesters at Altab Ali Park in solidarity for Shahbag were attacked by Jamaat-e-Islami supporters. Protests are held at the park every week by both sides.
caption: Shahbag protest supporters in Stuttgart
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