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Bangladesh PM hints at backing ban of Islamic party

 
Published on Feb 17, 2013
5:58 AM
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A Bangladeshi activist shouts slogans during the funeral procession of blogger Rajib aider, 30, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013. Haidar had been critical of the Islamic group Jamaat-e-Islami, whose leader Abdul Quader Mollah was recently given a life sentence for his role in the killing of 381 civilians during the nation’s 1971 war for independence from Pakistan. Thousands of university students and other activists demanding his execution have accused the fundamentalist party of killing Haider last evening while he was returning home, according to news reports. -- PHOTO: AP

DHAKA (AFP) - Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina indicated on Saturday she would back a ban on the country's largest Islamic party, as tens of thousands of people joined the funeral of an anti-Islamist blogger.

Ms Hasina said after a meeting with the mourning relatives of Ahmed Rajib Haider that the Jamaat-e-Islami party, whose members are suspected in the blogger's murder, had "no right to be in politics in free Bangladesh".

Demonstrations championed by the country's online activists have seen thousands take to the streets for the last two weeks demanding the execution of leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami party who are on trial for war crimes.

Rival protests by Islamists demanding a halt to the trials of Jamaat leaders including its chief and deputy chief over their role in the 1971 independence war have turned violent across the country, leaving 13 people dead.

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