Verdict could be different if people took to streets earlier: Quamrul

Dhaka, Feb 6 (UNB) – State Minister for Law Quamrul Islam on Wednesday said that the verdict against Jamaat-e-Islami assistant general secretary Abdul Quader Mollah for war crimes could have been different if people took to the streets ahead of the verdict.

“The verdict didn’t meet expectation of the people. The verdict could have been different if people took to the streets before the verdict,” he told the reporters in front of Awami League office at Bangabadhu Avenue in the city.

His comment came when several hundred people from all walks of life thronged at Shahbagh intersection and staged sit-in for the second consecutive day today demanding capital punishment of Quader Mollah

The sit-in started from Tuesday as an online activists’ group, Blogger and Online Activists Network (BOAN), gave a call through online social networks to wage protests against the verdict against Quader Mollah by the International Crimes Tribunal-2 (ICT-2) sentencing him to life term imprisonment for his war crimes

The junior minister also rejected the allegation of secret deal with Jamaat and said “those who are making this type of comment are delivering false statements.

The International Crimes Tribunal -2 on Tuesday sentenced Quader Mollah to life term imprisonment for his crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971 that prompted criticism from different corners.