Islami Chhatra Shibir has swapped controversial photographs of war crimes convicts with BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia's statements at Dhaka University (DU) after facing fierce opposition from leftist student groups during their 'July Uprising' anniversary event.
University authorities removed images of six Jamaat-e-Islami leaders convicted of crimes against humanity following protests on Tuesday.
DU students find this kind of display is provocative and symbolic, potentially meant to test the university administration's limits, provoke leftist backlash (which can be reframed as victimisation) and signal relevance to Jamaat’s leadership ahead of national elections.
But strategically, it’s limited. It does not shift power dynamics in DUCSU or offer a student-centric narrative. Instead, it reactivates old polarisations (Shibir vs. Left, Jamaat vs. Awami League) without advancing new political ideas.
Shibir responded by displaying Khaleda Zia's statements on war crimes trials, alongside materials about Geoffrey Robertson, Suroonjon Bali and what they termed the 'Skype Scandal' on Wednesday (the second day of the event).
The Skype Scandal refers to the 2012 leak of private Skype conversations and email correspondence between Justice Nizamul Huq, then head judge of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) and Ahmed Ziauddin, a Brussels-based Bangladeshi legal expert.
These recordings, published by The Economist and Amar Desh, revealed troubling behind-the-scenes coordination, with the judge appearing to consult Ziauddin, who held no official position in the tribunal, on case strategies, verdicts and overall trial management.
The leaked materials also suggested that the judge was under government pressure to expedite the trials, raising serious concerns about the independence, fairness and transparency of the judicial process. As a result of the controversy, Justice Nizamul Huq resigned in December 2012.
While the government dismissed the leaks as a conspiracy to derail justice for 1971 war crimes and vowed to continue the trials, rights groups and defence lawyers argued that the revelations had severely damaged the tribunal’s credibility.
Despite this, many international observers maintained support for the broader justice process. Since the ICT was primarily trying Jamaat-e-Islami leaders for war crimes committed during the 1971 Liberation War, the scandal provided political ammunition to the BNP-Jamaat alliance and other critics, who argued that the trials were politically motivated rather than impartial.
Thus, the Skype Scandal continues to serve as a potent political tool for opposition forces seeking to challenge the legitimacy of the war crimes verdicts.
Sajjad Hossain Khan, Shibir's Dhaka University publicity secretary, defended the move, stating their 'stance against the judge's murder remains clear' and they have 'always stood for truth and justice.' He claimed the exhibition demonstrates how the justice system was 'tainted through conspiracy like the Skype Scandal'.
Sajjad further alleged that former Prime Minister Hasina's 'dictatorial and fascist nature' over 15 years was enabled by this judicial controversy, which 'paved the way for false verdicts and oppressive measures.'
The original exhibition featured photographs of convicted war criminals Ghulam Azam, Nizami, Sayedee, Mujahid, Mir Quasem, and Kamaruzzaman, as well as BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury. Assistant Proctor Rafiqul Islam led the proctorial team that removed these images following leftist students' strong protests.
According to critiques, a critical political point that a general person might not immediately think of is Shibir’s strategic reframing of the war crimes narrative to discredit the judicial process and revive sympathy for both Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP through Khaleda Zia's controversial statements.
Most people may focus on the surface controversy, photo removal, protests or Khaleda Zia’s quote. But politically, Shibir is repositioning itself not just as a student wing of Jamaat but as a voice against 'judicial conspiracy', aligning its message with mainstream BNP narratives.
Shifting public discourse away from the crimes of convicted war criminals to questioning the legitimacy of the war crimes trials, exploiting past controversies like the Skype scandal.
Testing the red lines of DU’s political tolerance, possibly in anticipation of a broader opposition alliance strategy before national elections.
This tactic blends historical revisionism, anti-establishment sentiment, and symbolic protest, which an average observer might miss beneath the visible student unrest.
DU students also suggest that Islami Chhatra Shibir’s recent activity appears to be part of a strategic political repositioning, but it also reinforces their identity as a tail-based student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, not an autonomous force within student politics.
In the context of Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU), this move may further isolate Shibir. Even if the ICT trials remain controversial in some circles, DUCSU and broader student politics today are dominated by secular, centrist, or leftist voices.
Shibir’s insistence on revisiting 1971 war crimes narratives through a conspiratorial lens may appeal to a narrow ideological base, but it undermines their ability to broaden alliances, attract mainstream student support and present alternative policy or campus agendas (e.g., tuition fees, student rights, quality of education).
The 'We Are the 36th July: We Will Not Stop' event continues at TSC, marking significant tensions between different student political factions on campus.
NRE/NSA
