Bangladesh Statue of Justice controversy is a controversy that surrounds the building of a statue of justice at the premises of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. The controversy centers on the statue's depiction of the Themis, the Greek goddess of divine law, wearing a sari. [1] Islamic groups like Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh and Bangladesh Awami Olama League consider the statue to be idolatry and have taken legal actions calling for its removal. [2] [3]
Bangladesh is a Muslim majority country with a legal system based on English common law. [4] [5] Bangladesh has seen rising tension between the religious hardliners and secularist supporters. [6] A statue of Justice was erected in the premises of the Bangladesh Supreme Court by the Government. [7] The Statue was that of Themis or Lady Justice, ancient Greek Titaness and the personification of Justice and the goddess of wisdom and good counsel. [8] [2] The Statue has blindfolds, is holding a sword, and wearing a Sari. The Sari is a local variation, the statue is usually wearing a gown. [9]
On 24 February 2017 thousands of Muslims protested in Dhaka against the statue. Supporters of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh marched from the national mosque, Baitul Mukarram, after Friday prayers. [10] A similar rally was held at the same time in Chittagong, the second largest city in Bangladesh. [11] [12] Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh later submitted a petition to the Supreme Court to demolish it, which was supported by the Awami League affiliated Bangladesh Awami Olama League and an online news editor. [13] They called it conspiracy to undermine Islam in Bangladesh. [14]
Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister of Bangladesh supported calls to remove the Statue of Justice from the Supreme Court of Bangladesh with some people saying the government was bowing down to the pressure of those who have used religion for political ends. [15]
The Supreme Court officials defended the statue as a symbol of justice. [16] The Dhaka Tribune wrote an article defending the statue. [17] The Daily Star defended the statue and pointed out that only 7 percent of the Judges are female. [18] The Hellenic Indian Society for Culture & Development (ELINEPA) in Athens described the statue of Themis as a symbol of justice and secularism in Bangladesh. [19]
On 26 May, the Lady Justice statue was completely removed at 2am after a court decision and taken away by a truck at around 4am. [20] [21] [22] Two days later, the statue was reinstalled in place a few hundred meters from its original location. [23]
The order was given from the Supreme Court, and the difference was stated to be one where the statue was on display (initial location) and one where it was inside and therefore not 'on focus'. [24]
The statue was destroyed in August 2024 after the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the fall of the Awami League government. [25]
Bangladesh Awami League, simply known as Awami League, is one of the major political parties in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achieving the independence of Bangladesh. It is also one of the two most dominant parties in the country, along with its archrival Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
Sheikh Hasina is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. She is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh. She served in the position of prime minister for over 20 years, making her the longest-serving prime minister in history of Bangladesh. Thus, she became the world's longest-serving female head of government. Her authoritarian regime ended in self-imposed exile following an uprising in 2024.
The Islami Oikya Jote is a political party in Bangladesh and allied with the former Four Party Alliance.
Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami is a Pakistani Islamist extremist, fundamentalist and terrorist organization affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Islamic TV was a Bangladeshi Bengali-language satellite and cable religious television channel launched in April 2007. It was headquartered in the Hatirpool neighborhood of Dhaka. One of the founders of the channel was its owner Sayeed Iskander, the younger brother of the former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
The history of Bangladesh (1971–present) refers to the period after the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan.
Lady Justice is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems. Her attributes are scales, a sword and sometimes a blindfold. She often appears as a pair with Prudentia.
Diganta Television was a Bangladeshi Bengali-language privately owned satellite and cable news television channel founded in 2007. The channel was owned Diganta Media Corporation, which also owns the daily newspaper Daily Naya Diganta. Diganta Television officially began broadcasting on 28 August 2008, and was shut down along with Islamic TV on 6 May 2013, both of which were assumed to be supporting the Jamaat-e-Islami political party, and as a result faced boycotts during the 2013 Shahbag protests.
Shah Ahmad Shafi was a Bangladeshi Sunni Islamic scholar, the chief of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, Rector of Al-Jamiatul Ahlia Darul Ulum Moinul Islam Hathazari and also the chairman of Bangladesh Qawmi Madrasah Education Board. He was born in 1930 in Rangunia, Chittagong and was educated at Hathazari Madrasah and Darul Uloom Deoband.
International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh is a domestic judicial tribunal that deals with the issues of international crimes like war crimes and the crimes against humanity. Since its inception, the court has been playing remarkable roles in the formulation, application and thereby, promotion of international humanitarian law (IHL). Initially the tribunal was set up in 2009 to investigate and prosecute suspects for the genocide committed in 1971 by the Pakistan Army and their local collaborators Razakars, Al-Badr and Al-Shams during the Bangladesh Liberation War. During the 2008 general election, the Awami League (AL) pledged to try war criminals. The government set up the tribunal after the Awami League won the general election in December 2008 with a more than two-thirds majority in parliament.
Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh is an Islamist advocacy group consisted mostly of religious teachers (Ulama) and students in Bangladesh. The group is mainly based on qawmi madrasas in Bangladesh. In 2013, they submitted a 13-point charter to the government of Bangladesh, which included the demand for the enactment of a blasphemy law. Under recent years, Hefazat has been formed into more of a moderate and anti-terrorist ideology due to success of Awami League in ensuring jobs and mobilising qawmi madrasa.
The Shapla Square protests, also known as the siege of Dhaka, Operation Shapla, Operation Flash Out by security forces, was the protests and subsequent shootings of 5 and 6 May 2013 at Shapla Square, located in the Motijheel district, the main financial area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The protests were organized by the Islamist advocacy group, Hefazat-e Islam, who were demanding the enactment of a blasphemy law. The government responded to the protests by cracking down on the protesters using a combined force drawn from the police, Rapid Action Battalion and paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh to drive the protesters out of Shapla Square.
Nadia Sharmeen is a Bangladeshi journalist. In 2015, she won the US State Department's International Women of Courage Award.
Bangladesh Awami Olama League is a religious organization of Bangladesh that claims affiliation with Bangladesh Awami League. Although the Bangladesh Awami League denies any relationship, critics argue it uses platforms such as the Olama League for its own political benefits.
Mamunul Haque is a Bangladeshi Islamic scholar and the Joint Secretary-General of Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, emerged as an Islamist leader in the late 2010s, particularly following the deadliest events of the Siege of Dhaka. With an ancestral heritage of religious scholarship and political leadership from his father, Azizul Haque, he succeeded his father both as a Sheikh al-Hadith at Jamia Rahmania and as the Amir of Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis. He is best known for his oratory skills and his advocacy for the establishment of an Islamic state and the integration of Islamic principles into government policies. In 2020 and 2021, he led opposition to the construction of a sculpture of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and organized anti-Modi protests, which made him the undisputed Hefazat leader overnight. He faced legal challenges, including 41 cases, one of which was a treason charge, and has been imprisoned three times under the Sheikh Hasina regime. Following the fall of this regime, he participated in discussions with the President and the Chief of Army Staff, which eventually led to the formation of the Yunus ministry, which included a member from Hefazat, A F M Khalid Hossain. In addition to his political and religious activities, he has served as an adjunct professor at Asian University of Bangladesh and is the editor of Rahmani Paigam, a monthly magazine published in Dhaka.
A series of rallies, demonstrations, and blockades opposing the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were held in Bangladesh from 19 to 29 March, on the celebration of the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan. Accusing Narendra Modi of committing crimes against humanity during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the protesters agitated against what they alleged were India's anti-Muslim policies and India's interference in Bangladeshi politics. Protesters demanded the cancellation of the Bangladesh government's invitation to the Indian Prime Minister. The otherwise peaceful protests turned violent when the protesters were attacked by the supporters of the ruling Awami League party along with a crackdown by the law-enforcement agencies, causing the deaths of several protesters throughout the last week of March 2021 in Bangladesh. Initially launched by progressive student organizations including the Bangladesh Students Union, Bangladesh Sadharon Chhatra Odhikar Songrokkhon Parishad, and the Socialist Students' Front, the demonstrations were later joined by the Islamic group Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh.
Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman was a justice on the Appellate Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court. He resigned from the Supreme Court after being twice passed over from promotion.
Adilur Rahman Khan is a human rights activist and the founder of Odhikar, a human rights organisation. He is a lawyer and former Deputy Attorney General for Bangladesh. Since October 2022, Adilur Rahman Khan has been one of the Secretaries General of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). He has been serving as an adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh since August 2024.
Gazi MH Tamim is a Bangladeshi lawyer on the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He was a defense lawyer at the International Crimes Tribunal. He has filed genocide charges against members of the former Awami League government and media personnel at the International Crimes Tribunal after the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Now he is a prosecutor of International Crimes Tribunal.
Sheikh Hasina's tenure as Prime Minister of Bangladesh began on 23 June 1996, when she assumed office after her party, the Awami League, won the general election, succeeding Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Her first term lasted until 15 July 2001. She returned to office on 6 January 2009 following her party’s landslide victory in the 2008 general election and had further electoral wins in 2014, 2018 and 2024 general elections, though these elections was widely criticised for lacking transparency, with opposition parties boycotting those elections and international observers alleging vote manipulation and suppression.
The Lady of Justice statue was installed on the apex court premises in December 2016. Islamic organizations soon dubbed the initiative a conspiracy to undermine Islam in Bangladesh. After prolonged protests by these organizations, the Hasina government agreed to their demands in May 2017. The statue was removed from its original location and reinstalled at a less prominent place two days later.
On August 6, the Lady of Justice shared the same fate as the Venus statue of Mymensingh. First, the two arms were broken. By night, it had been uprooted. Lady Justice had finally fallen.