(Bloomberg) -- Bangladesh formally banned the biggest Islamist party in the country from all political activity for its alleged role in student protests that turned violent.
The government has banned the Jamaat-e-Islami party and all associated groups on allegations of terrorism, according to a notice from the home ministry on Thursday.
“The government has enough evidence to prove that Jamaat-e-Islami and its associated organization Islami Chhatra Shibir have directly engaged in the recent killings, sabotage and violence,” the ministry said.
This is the latest development in a crackdown by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government against those she has described last month as being responsible for the anarchy. The student-led protests were initially against a controversial government jobs quota but had turned violent with mobs destroying public property and clashing with security forces. Some 200 people were killed.
The coalition led by Hasina’s Awami League had agreed to push for a ban at a meeting on July 29, the ruling party’s Secretary General Obaidul Quader said at a media briefing.
The Jamaat party had its registration as a political party revoked by the High Court in 2013, effectively blocking it from contesting in elections. But this has not stopped the Islamist group from taking part in political activities and holding rallies.
The group earlier condemned decision to ban it from political activities, saying neither Bangladesh’s laws nor its constitution allows for this. The ban is “arbitrary, illogical, illegal and unconstitutional,” Jamaat party chief Shafiqur Rahman said in a statement on July 30.
Rahman accused the government of deflecting attention from the student movement and blamed it for “indiscriminate mass killings” to suppress the protests.
Five Jamaat leaders were executed by Hasina’s government between 2013 and 2016 for their alleged role in the 1971 war that led to Bangladesh’s separation from Pakistan. Two other leaders died in prison. The party leaders who opposed Bangladesh’s independence were accused of murder, rape and torture, which they had denied.
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