Former High Court justice and former chair of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances Moinul Islam Chowdhury described enforced disappearance as more horrifying than death at a Saturday symposium in the capital. Speaking at the event titled “Human Rights Situation in Bangladesh: A Review,” he said families of disappeared people do not know where their relatives are and remain trapped in prolonged uncertainty.

Chowdhury said death allows families to grieve and complete burial rites, while disappearance leaves them suspended between hope and despair. He said affected families can face social stigma, financial hardship and isolation as they live with unanswered questions about their loved ones.

He said enforced disappearances became widespread during the previous Awami League government, when, in his view, state repression centered on the practice. He said the situation ended through the July movement of 2024. Chowdhury also alleged that the state apparatus often portrayed victims as criminals to justify such actions, while law-enforcement and intelligence officials were dehumanized under high-level instructions to facilitate them.