Speaking at a mass rally organized by Jamaat-e-Islami at Suhrawardy Udyan in Dhaka on Saturday, July 19, Assistant Secretary General Maulana Rafiqul Islam Khan called for immediate justice over the alleged massacre committed during last year’s July movement.

In his address, Rafiqul Islam accused the ruling Awami League government, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, of carrying out a series of violent crackdowns and mass killings over the years. He cited the 28 October 2006 killings in Paltan, the BDR headquarters carnage at Pilkhana, and the violent dispersal of Islamic scholars at Shapla Chattar on May 5, 2013, as examples of state-led atrocities.

He further alleged that the execution of Jamaat’s former Ameer, Motiur Rahman Nizami, was a “judicial killing,” claiming it was part of a broader scheme to dismantle the party by eliminating its senior leadership.

Referring to last year’s mass protests, Rafiqul Islam claimed thousands were killed in what he termed the “July Massacre,” and emphasized that the people of Bangladesh are united in demanding accountability.

“There can be no mockery of justice,” he said. “The nation will not tolerate staged trials. The proceedings must be real, fair, and completed before the upcoming general election.”

He also called for the arrest and prosecution of those he accused of being complicit in these events, both inside and outside the current government.

“Fascism must not be allowed to return to Bangladesh,” he declared. “We will not let this soil be ruled by authoritarianism again.”