On 5 February 2013, the Shahbagh protests erupted in Bangladesh, demanding the execution of Abdul Quader Mollah, a convicted war criminal and Islamist leader, who was previously sentenced to life imprisonment for his crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Mollah's involvement in the war included supporting West Pakistan and participating in the murder of Bengali nationalists and intellectuals. The protests also called for a ban on Jamaat-e-Islami, a radical right-wing and conservative-Islamist group, from politics and a boycott of its affiliated institutions.

The initial leniency of Mollah's sentence sparked outrage, leading to a significant mobilization by bloggers and online activists, which increased participation in the Shahbagh demonstrations. In response, Jamaat-e-Islami organized counter-protests, disputing the tribunal's legitimacy and demanding the release of the accused.

The murder of blogger and activist Ahmed Rajib Haider on 15 February by members of the far-right terrorist group Ansarullah Bangla Team, linked to Jamaat-e-Islami's student wing, intensified public outrage. Later that month, on 27 February, the war tribunal sentenced another key figure, Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, to death for war crimes against humanity.