Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Motiur Rahman Nizami and Mir Quasem Ali, as well as Bangladesh Nationalist Party Standing Committee’s former member Salauddin Quader Chowdhury were sentenced to death in false cases, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said on Saturday.

“The nation has not forgotten the oppression unleashed by the fascist government on pro-democracy forces. Around 60 lakh leaders and activists were implicated in false cases, and more than 20,000 became victims of murder and enforced disappearance,” he said.

Fakhrul was addressing a programme, marking the 21st founding anniversary of the Daily Naya Diganta at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka.

“Nizami, Mir Quasem, and Salauddin Quader, along with many Islamic scholars, were sentenced to death in fabricated cases, marking a disgraceful chapter in the nation’s history,” he said.

Under the regime of Sheikh Hasina, the three were executed in 2015 and 2016 over cases of crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War.

Regarding the struggle for democracy, the BNP leader said, “The countrymen aspire to build a free and democratic Bangladesh, which will be governed by the will of its people, not by any foreign power. Naya Diganta continues to serve as the voice of the masses toward that goal.” 

Recalling the post-Liberation War period, he said the media, particularly the press, faced severe repression. “After the establishment of BKSAL in 1975, all newspapers were shut down. I remember that many journalists became unemployed, and some even worked as hawkers in front of Baitul Mukarram, as there were no newspapers left.”

After the political changeover in 1975, Fakhrul said, BNP founder and late president Ziaur Rahman was the first to move away from the one-party system and introduce multi-party democracy, ensuring press freedom.

Speaking about the upcoming national election, the BNP secretary general said that the election has been scheduled for February 2026. “Through the unity of the parties that have signed the reform charter, we aim to create an atmosphere for a credible and participatory election.”

He called upon everyone to take part in the election to restore democracy.