Student Union Leader Shimul Threatened for Protesting War Criminal Azhar’s Acquittal

Staff Reporter

Leaders of left-leaning student organizations at Dhaka University protested on Tuesday, May 27, against the acquittal of Jamaat leader and Razakar Azharul Islam from death sentence in crimes against humanity case. Following his participation in the protest, Chhatra Union’s General Secretary Shimul Kumbhakar faces threats from radical Jamaat activists in his hometown Sathia upazila of Pabna, who are inciting communal violence through Facebook posts.

A provocative post circulating on Facebook has called for mob violence against Shimul. Local Jamaat leader Hafez Shahinur Islam threatened “skin peeling punishment” while identifying Shimul’s home address and using the derogatory term “Malu” (maloun). The post urges locals to deliver “severe punishment.”

Tuesday’s protest march saw participation from Chhatra Union, Biplobi Chhatra Maitree, Socialist Student Front, Democratic Student Council, and Student Federation activists.

They chanted slogans against 1971 war criminals including Razakars, with photos/videos of the protest angering war criminal organization Jamaat-e-Islami and its covert student wing Chhatra Shibir, leading to these threats according to leftist activists.

Chhatra Union leader Shimul Kumbhakar stated: “Ten months after the mass uprising, we see 1971 convicted Al-Badr commander Azhar getting full acquittal. This bloodstained government has betrayed us – systematically freeing war criminals through mob justice and terror in this regime.”

He added: “Those who collaborated in 1971 and opposed Bangladesh won’t be allowed in politics here. There can be no compromise with genocide perpetrators.”

Biplobi Chhatra Maitree General Secretary Jabir Ahmed Jubel said: “A man sentenced to death in three separate cases has now been cleared in all. Our people will never forget 1971. Any government siding with genocide perpetrators will be rejected.”