STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Survivors of enforced disappearances broke down yesterday as they recalled the torture, humiliation, and threats they endured in secret detention centres.

Their testimonies, along with those of their families, painted a grim picture of inhuman treatment and what they said is a justice system yet to hold perpetrators accountable.

The event, organised by the Human Rights Support Society (HRSS) on the eve of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance, brought together survivors, human rights defenders, and political representatives who called for urgent action to end the culture of disappearances in Bangladesh.

One survivor, Jesmin Nahar, said she was picked up along with her husband, Mohammad Alamin, and their house help by members of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) on January 14, 2015. They were held for four months in secret confinement.

“During my detention at a secret location, I was tortured inhumanely. They cut my legs and spread salt on the wounds. I was also given electric shocks,” she said, adding that she still bears the scars on her body.

Alamin said he was kept bare-chested in winter and officers tried to uproot victims’ nails with pliers. The couple were released only after being warned never to reveal who had picked them up, and were threatened with the disappearance of their children.

Others echoed similar accounts. Rahamat Ullah, detained in 2023, said he was confined in a three-foot-long room for nine months, tortured with electric shocks, and later transferred to Kolkata Jail before being deported back to Bangladesh.

Mikel Changma, another survivor,

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