# Shahbag protests (5–22 February 2013)

URL: https://allhistories.com/bangladesh/timeline/2013-shahbag-protests
Location: Shahbag, Dhaka
Themes: Protest, 1971 memory

On 5 February 2013 crowds gathered at Shahbag Square in Dhaka after the International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Abdul Quader Molla to life imprisonment for crimes in 1971. Protesters wanted the death penalty and a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami. A rally on 8 February drew an estimated 100,000 people or more, and similar gatherings were held in other cities and abroad. Many protesters were young and used social media, and the group Ganajagaran Mancha emerged as its organiser. Jamaat held counter-protests, and the Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam opposed the movement. The blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider was killed outside his home on 15 February by members of Ansarullah Bangla Team, and violence around tribunal verdicts killed dozens of people by early March. The government amended the tribunal law to allow state appeals, and the Supreme Court increased Molla's sentence to death in September. He was hanged on 12 December 2013. Jamaat's registration had already been cancelled on 1 August. Critics argued that popular pressure shaped judicial outcomes and polarised the country, while supporters saw the movement as a renewed national consensus about 1971. At this point in the timeline (2013), Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (6 January 2009 – 5 August 2024) led Bangladesh, with President Zillur Rahman as head of state.

## Why it matters
Shahbag was the largest youth-led mobilisation since the 1990 uprising and a rehearsal for the digital-era protest politics seen again in 2018 and 2024.

Ruler at the Time: [Sheikh Hasina (second to fifth terms)](https://allhistories.com/bangladesh/rulers/sheikh-hasina-second-to-fifth-terms)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — 2013 Shahbag protests](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Shahbag_protests)
- [Wikipedia — Abdul Quader Molla](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Quader_Molla)
- [Wikipedia — International Crimes Tribunal (Bangladesh)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Crimes_Tribunal_(Bangladesh))