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seeking bail.”
Despite facing repression, they could not get remedies from the courts, he said, adding that the current government appears to have forgotten that experience.
He also questioned whether BNP plans to reinstate “sworn-in judges” or appoint similar figures again. “This is a warning sign. If this continues, none of us will remain safe. Some ordinances approved by the government could be misused,” he said.
On local government, Badiul said the interim government had issued four ordinances allowing the appointment of administrators after many elected representatives went into hiding following the mass uprising and the terms of several bodies expired.
He noted that the interim government had planned local government elections before the national polls but could not hold them due to BNP’s opposition. BNP had promised to hold those elections after the parliamentary polls, but “the opposite has happened,” he said.
He termed the appointment of administrators a violation of BNP’s 31-point reform outline, its election manifesto, Article 59 of the constitution, and a High Court verdict.
“In my view, whichever party is in power should enact laws that will protect it when it goes into opposition. But BNP is moving in the opposite direction,” he said, warning that the consequences would not be good for either citizens or those in power.
At the event, HRSS Chairman Sahjada Al Amin Kabir gave opening and closing remarks, while Executive Director Ijajul Islam presented a paper.
HRSS urged the government to keep the ordinances in force, publish a roadmap for revised laws, ensure participation of civil society and rights groups, and guarantee judicial independence.
It also called for prompt and impartial investigations into enforced disappearances and rights violations, greater transparency through regular progress reports, and alignment of laws with international human rights standards.
Among others, senior journalists, rights activists, lawyers, and political representatives also spoke at the discussion.