Hefazat leader Junayed Babunagari has again demanded unconditional release of its leaders and activists, now in jail in violence cases.
Ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr, the largest festival of the Muslims, Babunagari in a statement on Thursday also asked the government to withdraw the cases filed against its leaders, reports Bangla Tribune.
“Hundreds of Hefazat leaders-activists are now in jail. There is no joy of Eid in their families,” said Babunagari, former chief of the radical Islamist group now serving as one of the three chief advisers of its convening committee.
He also asked the Muslims to pray to get rid of the coronavirus.
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More than two dozen senior leaders of Hefazat including Mamunul Haque are now in police custody or in jail in the violence cases filed in March this year and after the May 5 mayhem in 2013.
In his statement, Babunagari prayed for the wellbeing, peace and prosperity for all the Muslims, and asked people to celebrate the day under the purview of the Shariah and to shun the path of following the Western culture.
“It is completely haram to observe Eid through anti-Islamic activities,” he said.
The Hefazat leader asked the rich people of the society to come forward for the betterment of the poor and helpless people, and requested everyone to pay Zakat and Fitra.
Also Read - Hefazat leader Mamunul sent to jail after remand
The maximum Fitra for the Eid-ul-Fitr this year is set at Tk2,310 per head and minimum at Tk70.
The Qawmi madrasa-based umbrella group of small Islamist parties that emerged in 2010 has been vocal since 2013 when they announced their 13-point demands, including ensuring capital punishment for what it described as atheists and declaring the Ahmadiyyas non-Muslims.
On April 26, Hefazat formed its five-member convening committee within two hours of the dissolution of its central committee. Some senior Hefazat leaders have met the home minister several times to demand release of its detained leaders from jail.
The previous day, the government-recognized board Al-Hayatul Ulaya Lil-Jami'atil Qawmia announced that students and teachers of Qawmi madrasas would remain out of political activities.
