Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh has issued a statement distancing itself from an effigy of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina that was seen hanging on a stand labelled “Jagroto July” near the Raju Memorial Sculpture on the Dhaka University campus during its rally on May 3.
In a press release sent to the media on Sunday, Secretary General Sajedur Rahman said: “Hefazat has no connection to the effigy.”
He stated: “On May 1, an effigy of the genocidal fascist Hasina was hanged with a noose on a stand bearing a sticker of ‘Jagroto July’ in front of the Raju sculpture at Dhaka University. A platform named 'The Dacca' posted the incident as a news report on its Facebook page.
"This indicates that student activists from the July movement had already placed the effigy there in protest. The fascist Hasina's effigy that became the target of public outrage outside the venue of our May 3 rally, near the Raju sculpture, has no connection to Hefazat-e-Islam.”
He further said: “Those who are linking Hefazat to the incident and spreading propaganda in the name of misogyny are nothing but allies of Awami fascists and enemies of the July revolution. We believe the incident was an expression of public anger towards the genocidal fascist Hasina. We do not endorse or support hatred or resentment towards women.”
He also noted: “We were able to conduct our grand rally peacefully and in an orderly manner. In the past, under the fascist Hasina regime, police would attack our gatherings and create violent situations to pin the blame on us. Since then, a group of secular media outlets have acted as accomplices to fascism, spreading propaganda at home and abroad to incite hatred against us.”
