At least three people were killed Friday when Islamist activists across Bangladesh clashed with police during protests against the war crimes trial of members of the Jamaat-e-Islami party.
Most top leaders of the Jamaat party, which opposed Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan, are facing trial for war crimes in a court set up by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed’s administration in 2010.
An activist from the Jamaat-e-Islami party was killed in the south-western district of Jhenaidah when Islamists fought with the police, Khawja Abdul Hannan, chief administrator of the district, said by phone.
One person was killed in clashes in the north-eastern district of Sylhet and another in the northern district of Gaibandha, police said.
Clashes erupted in Dhaka and elsewhere when party activists marched from mosques following Friday prayers to protest what they said was a conspiracy against religious parties.
Abdul Quader Mollah, one of the main leaders of Jamaat, was sentenced to life in jail on February 5 for genocide and rape.
Several thousand youths have been demonstrating for more than two weeks for a ban of Jamaat and the death penalty for Mollah.
In Dhaka, several hundred Islamists attacked police Friday as officers intercepted one of their processions heading to the site of a protest against the party.
The Islamists threw bricks, detonated homemade bombs, set vehicles on fire and beat reporters while the police fired teargas and rubber bullets to disperse them in Dhaka. The clashes lasted nearly two hours.
Television footage showed Islamists on the rampage in other parts of the country.
At least 50 people were detained in Dhaka, said Nurul Islam, a senior police officer.
Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir said the government has beefed up security across Bangladesh and blamed Jamaat-e-Islami for creating anarchy in a bid to foil the ongoing war crimess trial.