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“We want these powers to remain intact and the ordinances to be enacted into law without any changes,” he said, urging the NHRC to remain independent and not function as “an extension of the executive”.

NHRC Chairperson Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury assured those at the meeting that the commission will take firm action on behalf of the victims of human rights violations.

He said the previous legal framework -- the National Human Rights Commission Act 2009 -- was fundamentally flawed.

The old law, he noted, lacked the “potency, biting teeth, and pointed claws” required to hold powerful violators accountable.

Justice Moyeenul expressed hope that the relevant ordinances would be preserved in their current form and swiftly enacted into law to ensure effective remedies.

NHRC Commissioner Nur Khan said the commission will stand by the victims and will not bow down to any pressure -- “even at gunpoint”. He urged people to judge the new body by its actions over the next 12 months.

Another commissioner, Professor Shariful Islam, said, “We are not here just for the salary; if we cannot work, we will leave.”

Commissioner Elira Dewan said the NHRC would fully exercise its legal powers under the current ordinances and work independently.

Commissioner Nabila Idris moderated the meeting.

The discussion brought together officials from prominent rights organisations, including Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, Ain o Salish Kendra, Odhikar, and Human Rights Support Society, who represented families seeking justice after years of state-led intimidation.

Reshma Akter, whose husband Mohammad Chanchal has been missing since 2013, broke down while recounting how her child knows his father only through a photograph.

A similar story of survival was shared by the wife of Mohammad Firoz Khan Kalu, who was forcibly disappeared from Chattogram in 2012. She still does not know his fate and struggles to make ends meet through tailoring work.

Shahed Shahriar, son of Sultana Jesmin, who died in RAB custody in 2023, said that the family was still unable to collect her death certificate or pension.

Shahadat Hossain, who was shot in the leg by police in 2019, spoke about the “price” of justice. He alleged the officer responsible was fined a mere Tk 15.

“Is the price of my leg only Tk 15?”

Some testimonies focused on religious persecution and mob violence.

Meer Mahbub Mostafa Ali, secretary (external affairs) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Bangladesh, said 117 homes were burned in Panchagarh in August 2024, and that one 16-year-old -- Shariar Rakib -- died.

Sunil Das, uncle of Dipu Das, a Hindu man who was killed and burned by a mob over what the family described as false blasphemy allegations, broke down while describing how Dipu was beaten, dragged for around one-and-a-half kilometres, and then burned. He demanded the maximum punishment for those responsible.

Joy and Dulal Robidas said their fathers, Pradip Lal and Rup Lal, were beaten to death after being branded “thieves”, while police allegedly did not intervene.

Others who spoke at the meeting included Rocky, brother of custodial death victim Johnny; Ema Akhter, wife of bodybuilder Faruk, who also died in custody; and Kajol Mia, who survived a gunshot to the head in Jatrabari during the July uprising.

The NHRC concluded the session by assuring the victims that their recommendations would be reviewed and that the commission would take the necessary steps to make remedy mechanisms more effective.