Habibur Rahman still struggles to overcome the harrowing memories. His beloved sister, Nadira Akter Poppy, and her three-year-old son, Yasin, were the centerpieces of his world. However, in the early hours of December 19, a devastating arson attack on a moving train in Dhaka cruelly snatched their lives away.

Habibur recalls his sister’s desperate struggle to save her young son, a battle she tragically lost. The torment of retrieving their charred remains is a burden he will bear for the rest of his life. “Neither had any involvement in politics, yet they paid the ultimate price for the brutal politics of blockades and arson,” he laments.

Read: ‘I demand justice from PM’: Mizanur, who lost wife and child in arson attack on train, says

His sole demand now is justice for the perpetrators of this heinous act, whom he equates to terrorists and savages.

Today, at the National Press Club, he stood in solidarity with numerous other victims who hold the BNP-Jamaat responsible for violence and arson attacks since October 28.

In a similar vein, the widow of police constable Md. Amirul Islam, who was killed in a clash between the police and BNP supporters surrounding the party’s grand rally in Dhaka on October 28, shared her grief.

“My husband was not involved in politics, but his murder by BNP-Jamaat men means my daughter and I will forever bear the scars of their political violence,” she stated.

Read: Daughter of constable brutally killed during Oct 28 BNP-Jamaat rallies still waiting for father's return

Like them, numerous other victims of the 2023 violence, as well as those affected between 2013 and 2015, gathered at the event to share their harrowing experiences.

Journalists, who were also targeted by BNP supporters while covering protests, appealed to the Prime Minister to dismantle the culture of impunity surrounding these crimes. They also criticized certain rights organizations for their perceived silence on the atrocities committed by BNP-Jamaat activists.

Three events were held at the National Press Club today where families of victims, journalists as well as several prominent activists and academics spoke about the atrocities inflicted on the general public during the blockades enforced by BNP and Jamaat. Academics speaking at the event also criticized the US stance that they said “emboldened” the BNP and Jamaat supporters.

At the Press Club today, a human chain was formed by media personnel injured in violence during the October 28 BNP grand rally. Another human chain, also at the venue, demanded justice for armed forces officers disappeared in 1977 and punishment for masterminds behind arson terrorism. A seminar on the past and present of the human rights situation in Bangladesh, organized by Bangladesh Ain Samity, was held at the National Press Club Auditorium.