🇧🇩 DGFI and Ayna Ghor

[Saif]

‘Captors kept watch on my family’

On the evening of December 4, 2017, around 6:45pm, M Maroof Zaman, former Bangladesh ambassador to Vietnam, was on his way from his Dhanmondi home to receive his daughter at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

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‘Captors kept watch on my family’

M Maroof Zaman Former diplomat Detention: Dec 4, 2017 to Mar 16, 2019


On the evening of December 4, 2017, around 6:45pm, M Maroof Zaman, former Bangladesh ambassador to Vietnam, was on his way from his Dhanmondi home to receive his daughter at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

While driving, he noticed a microbus tailgating and attempting to ram his car.

Near the airport, his car was intercepted, and two men in plain clothes got off the microbus, assaulted him and dragged him out of his car.

They forcibly placed Maroof into the microbus, where several other individuals blindfolded him, tied his hands, and covered his face with a cloth.

Under duress, he had to call a family member to instruct him to hand over his laptops to a "technician" who would visit his home.

"They wanted my laptops. I initially resisted, but after the assault I had no choice but to cooperate. They eventually took my laptops from my home," he told The Daily Star.

After driving for about 20 minutes, the microbus stopped, but he could not see where they were as he was blindfolded.

Maroof, also a retired captain of Bangladesh Army, said he was confined to a small, filthy room furnished with a wooden bed, a CCTV camera, and four fans. The space was barely livable.

"Many people were detained in this room at different times, and some had written their names, addresses and dates on the walls. These writings were painted over every three months."

During his captivity, the former diplomat, 67, faced interrogations more than nine times.

"They [abductors] questioned me about certain people I didn't know. They enquired about some agreements between India and Bangladesh. They also wanted to know how I became aware of an Indian intelligence agency training members of a Bangladeshi intelligence agency.

"They repeatedly enquired why I wrote anti-government articles on international online platforms," said Maroof.

While being held, Maroof realised that he was in a cantonment area and those carrying out duties there were from the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI).

He got some clues such as a water bottle marked "Sena", medications, and a copy of the Holy Quran with military references.

"After I finished one bottle of water, they [captors] gave me another one with the label 'Sena'. The medicine they gave me had 'Defence Medicine, Trading Prohibited' written on the strips.

"When I requested a Quran from the person who looked after the detainees, he handed me one, which had 'Section Headquarters Library' stamped inside.

"They used the term 'Boro Bhai' to refer to senior officials for confidentiality," he said.

Maroof said he once heard someone outside his room loudly saying -- "Guard, Sabdhan".

He also heard planes and trains quite often early in the morning.

During an interrogation, interrogators hit him in the face.

"My mouth started bleeding and my teeth were damaged. They also struck me with sticks, injuring my hands and legs. They did not provide any medical treatment."

He also learned that his captors had been keeping track of his family's activities.

"One day, an officer told me that my daughter was at a restaurant on Dhanmondi-27. He said she had enrolled in a private university."

Throughout his captivity, he suffered from various ailments, including skin conditions, a hand ligament injury, and mouth sores.

Maroof's ordeal finally ended on March 16, 2019.

"I was asleep in my room when a man awakened me around 1:00am. They took me to an interrogation room and warned me not to reveal anything about the last 15 months," he recounted.

His captors returned his clothes but kept his laptops. They then drove him to near his house in Dhanmondi around 2:00am, and instructed him not to look back.

Maroof resigned as captain from Bangladesh Army in 1982. He was sent into forced retirement as an ambassador in 2013.

The former diplomat demanded formation of a commission to investigate all the incidents of enforced disappearance that occurred over the last 15 years.​

 

[Saif]

আয়নাঘরে সাবেক রাষ্ট্রদূত যেভাবে জানতে পেরেছিলেন এর পেছনে কারা

 

[Saif]

‘They didn’t even let me drop off the milk for my child’

After years-long legal battles, all 110 cases against Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus and his organisation Grameen Telecom over alleged labour law violations were dropped by union workers and employees on May 23, 2022, following a settlement regarding payment claims.

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‘They didn’t even let me drop off the milk for my child’

Firoz Mahmud Hasan
Labour leader
Detention: Jun 30, 2022 to Jul 6, 2022

After years-long legal battles, all 110 cases against Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus and his organisation Grameen Telecom over alleged labour law violations were dropped by union workers and employees on May 23, 2022, following a settlement regarding payment claims.

Around a month later, on June 30, Grameen Telecom Workers' Union General Secretary Firoz Mahmud Hasan, 44, was picked up by plainclothes men.

"I couldn't tell day from night. I didn't even hear the call to prayer. I could only tell it was morning when they brought breakfast on a melamine plate."— Firoz Mahmud Hasan.

He was then taken to the infamous "Aynaghar", a secret detention facility, where he was subjected to torture in an attempt to force him to make a statement against Prof Yunus and Grameen Telecom authorities.

This is the story of his abduction, his experience in "Aynaghar", and his eventual release.

HOW HE WAS PICKED UP

It was around 10:30pm on June 30, 2022. Firoz, along with his wife and children, had just sat down for dinner when they realised they were out of milk for their one-and-a-half-year-old child. So, Firoz left his dinner and went to buy some at a shop close to his home in Mirpur's ECB Chottor.

On his way home, 10-15 masked men stopped him and asked for his identity. They took his mobile phones and forced him to go with them.

They didn't even let him drop off the milk for his child. He was quickly blindfolded and taken away on a microbus.

"I couldn't tell day from night. I didn't even hear the call to prayer. I could only tell it was morning when they brought me breakfast."— Firoz Mahmud Hasan.

Hours later, Firoz found himself in a detention centre, which he was unaware at the time was the infamous "Aynaghar."

There, he was tortured, both physically and mentally, and threatened with the same treatment for his family if he did not comply with their request.

His captors wanted Firoz to record a statement claiming that union leaders accepted money from Grameen Telecom officials to convince workers to drop their cases.

When Firoz revealed his harrowing experience at the "Aynaghar" to The Daily Star on Monday, he said he could not open up until now for fear of reprisals and only found his voice after the Hasina-led government fell on August 5.

'HOUSE OF MIRRORS'

After Firoz was brought to his cell at the "Aynaghar", his blindfolds were removed.

His cell was very narrow. It was 3 feet wide and 6-7 feet long. Concrete walls surrounded him on three sides, and a locked iron gate led to a corridor.

"The cell was empty except for a light bulb, a fan, a water bottle, and a blanket."

Firoz said no light, sound, or air from outside reached his cell.

"The bulb was always on, and there were fans outside my cell, which were very loud. Whenever I needed to use the toilet, I had to raise my hand, and a guard would arrive. I assume they monitored me 24 hours through CCTV."

The only time he didn't have a blindfold on was when he went to the toilet and when he was inside his cell.

"I couldn't tell day from night. I didn't even hear the azaan (call to prayer). I could only tell it was morning when they brought me breakfast."

THE TORTURE

Firoz was subjected to intense interrogation and physical and mental torture.

"They beat me badly with sticks from my waist down and tortured me with electric shocks, strapping me to a steel chair and tying my hands."

They threatened that if he didn't comply with their request, his family members would be picked up and tortured as well.

"I kept thinking I would be killed any day or never see my family again."

HANDOVER TO COPS

After seven days of torture, Firoz was handed over to the DMP's Detective Branch (DB) in the early hours of July 6.

There, he came across his colleague Kamruzzaman, the union president, who had also remained in detention during the same period as Firoz and underwent similar experiences.

The two were then shown arrested in a case filed over allegations of fraud and embezzlement by another union leader and subsequently placed on remand for seven days.

During the 7-day interrogation, Firoz and Kamruzzaman were forced to memorise a script, intended to serve as their confessional statement.

"A copy of the text was submitted to the court, which recorded it as my confessional statement."

Every time his lawyer requested bail in court, the court rejected it.

He was finally granted bail in April 2023 after spending nine months in jail. Even then, he continued to feel a lingering sense of insecurity and anxiety.​

 

[Saif]

NHRC demands full disclosure about 'Aynaghar'

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has demanded full disclosure of information about secret detention cells called “Aynaghar,” including their current status, the identities of its administrators, and those responsible for establishing them

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NHRC demands full disclosure about 'Aynaghar'

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has demanded full disclosure of information about secret detention cells called "Aynaghar," including their current status, the identities of its administrators, and those responsible for establishing them.

In a press release, the NHRC today said that The Daily Star's August 21 report titled "Inside the Aynaghar," along with similar reports from various media outlets, has drawn its attention.

The NHRC expressed serious concerns and has taken suo motu (self-initiated) action, calling for comprehensive information about the Aynaghar.

These secret detention cells, infamously known as "Aynaghar," (house of mirrors), where victims of enforced disappearance were held for days, months and even years in inhuman conditions during Sheikh Hasina's 16-year regime. These facilities are notorious for their complete isolation, with detainees unable to see any light from the outside world.

The NHRC requested the senior secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs to provide comprehensive details regarding the current status of the Aynaghar, its administrators, the identities and numbers of those detained, the legal grounds for their detention, and those responsible for establishing the cells, according to the press release.

The deadline for submitting the report has been set for September 25.

Grameen Telecom Workers' Union General Secretary Firoz Mahmud Hasan - Aynaghar secret prisons victim

"In a democratic state, the physical and mental torture inflicted over years in the prohibited 'Aynaghar' is seen by the Commission as a severe violation of both constitutional and legal norms, as well as human rights. The damage caused to detainees due to indefinite detention is irreparable, and they are entitled to compensation," the NHRC said.

Given this context, it is necessary to investigate the location of the Aynaghar, identify those who managed it, determine how many people were detained there in total, their identities, the legal basis for their detention, and who was behind the establishment of these secret cells, it added.

The suo motu notice states that the Commission can only request reports from the government concerning allegations of disappearances or abductions by law enforcement agencies, whether initiated suo motu or based on complaints.

Due to the limitations of Section 18 of the National Human Rights Commission Act, 2009, the Commission cannot conduct its own investigations and must rely on government reports, which can sometimes take years to receive, it said.

The Commission believes that this legal limitation leaves it in a helpless position and requires urgent reform.​

 

[Saif]

[H3]স্বৈরাচারী হাসিনার কার্টুন ভিডিও|| রক্তপিপাসু হাসিনা আপু[/H3]

 

[Saif]

A silver lining for the victims of enforced disappearance

Commission on enforced disappearances must provide answer, justice

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A silver lining for the victims of enforced disappearance
Commission on enforced disappearances must provide answer, justice

VISUAL: STAR

We welcome the interim government's decision to establish a commission to investigate all the cases of enforced disappearance in Bangladesh. The government also seems on track to sign the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, making the country answerable to international forums. These moves mark a clear departure from the Awami League government's policy of denial, misrepresentation, and inaction on this issue.

Through these efforts, the country can finally expect some clarity on something the very existence of which was repeatedly denied by the previous regime. The families of those who were disappeared, mostly critics and political rivals of the Awami League, can finally hope to get justice and closure. According to rights organisation Odhikar, at least 708 people were victims of enforced disappearance between 2009 and 2024. Although many have since returned, at least 158 are still believed missing, according to Mayer Dak, a platform for the families of victims of enforced disappearance. Meanwhile, those who returned did not, until recently, speak up about their experience in fear of further retribution.

After the fall of Sheikh Hasina, several victims were released from the secret internment facilities, including what is popularly known as Aynaghar. This gave many hope that their loved ones might still be alive in one of the other 23 facilities apparently run by the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI). The challenge now is to ensure transparency and accountability in the investigative process without the interference of political and security entities that stand accused of committing the crime. The decision to appoint a person with the rank of a High Court judge as the head of the commission—and members with prior experience of working on prevention of enforced disappearances—is a step in the right direction, but they must be empowered enough to do their job right. The chief adviser's recent meeting with Mayer Dak has raised hopes of establishing justice for the victims.

As the legal framework of the commission is being drafted, we would also urge the government to create provisions to prevent future governments from exploiting security agencies to commit such heinous crimes—not just enforced disappearances, but also extrajudicial killings and custodial torture—for political purposes. For that, it is not enough to just bring to justice those involved in these gross violations of human rights. It must pursue reforms to insulate security agencies from the corrupt influences of politics and politicians, and end the culture of impunity for their crimes.​

 

[Saif]

Enforced disappearance: Govt sets up inquiry commission

The government yesterday formed a five-member inquiry commission to identify and find the people who were forcibly disappeared by various intelligence and law enforcement agencies between January 1, 2010, and August 5, 2024.

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Enforced disappearance: Govt sets up inquiry commission
It has to submit report in 45 days

The government yesterday formed a five-member inquiry commission to identify and find the people who were forcibly disappeared by various intelligence and law enforcement agencies between January 1, 2010, and August 5, 2024.

The formation of the commission comes three weeks after the toppling of the previous government, which had persistently denied reports of enforced disappearance and maintained that the victims went into hiding willingly to embarrass the authorities.

Bangladesh currently has no laws criminalising enforced disappearance nor has it ratified the United Nations International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

The country has now tasked retired High Court judge Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury to lead the new commission that will investigate the circumstances under which people were forcibly disappeared by any law enforcement or intelligence agency.

These agencies include Bangladesh Police, the Rapid Action Battalion, Border Guard Bangladesh, the Criminal Investigation Department, the Special Branch, the Ansar Battalion, National Security Intelligence, military forces, and the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI).

The commission will provide descriptions of the incidents of enforced disappearance to the authorities concerned and make recommendations, according to a gazette notification of the Cabinet Division.

Relatives will be informed if the commission discovers someone forcibly disappeared, said the notification signed by Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain.

It will also gather information from the investigation already carried out by any agency or organisation on the incidents of enforced disappearances.

The other four members of the commission are Justice Md Farid Ahmed Shibli, another former judge of the High Court, rights activists Nur Khan and Sazzad Hossain, and Nabila Idris, a teacher at BRAC University.

They will submit the report to the government after completing their investigation within 45 working days in line with the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1956, under which the commission has been formed.

Sanjida Islam Tulee, coordinator of Mayer Daak, a platform for the families of victims of enforced disappearance, said, "The investigation process must be transparent and the report must not seek to hide any of its findings. A system must be set up for victims to submit evidence."

The AL's narrative regarding reports of enforced disappearances unravelled after the horrifying stories of people, who were confined to secret detention centres, became public following the dramatic fall of Hasina's government.

The victims of enforced disappearance began to speak out after their release from the secret facilities known as "Aynaghar". These victims come from different age groups and political and social backgrounds, but their narratives of the thick-walled, iron-door prison cells are strikingly similar. These facilities are notorious for their complete isolation, with detainees unable to see any light from the outside world.

Many of these were run by the DGFI. The agency's heads are reportable directly to the prime minister and the prime minister's security adviser.

At a meeting with the DGFI on August 6, a six-member team, including rights activists and a UN representative, demanded access to the detention facility. The team was allowed to visit the DGFI headquarters in Dhaka on August 7.

After coming out of the facility, rights activist Shireen Huq told families of some victims that the DGFI said there were no detainees in their Dhaka facility. The agency also said that they would form a joint commission to arrange visits for rights activists to 23 other facilities across the country to see if the victims of enforced disappearance were there.

Now demands are being made from the families of the victims, rights activists and different other quarters to put an end to such torture in confinement to Aynaghar-style facilities.

According to rights organisation Odhikar, at least 708 people were victims of enforced disappearance between 2009 and June 2024.

The US in December 2021 imposed sanctions on Rab and seven of its top officers over serious rights abuses. It said the Rab and other Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies were responsible for more than 600 enforced disappearances since 2009 and nearly 600 extrajudicial killings since 2018.​

 

[Saif]

Int’l day of the victims of enforced disappearances: Victim pinpoints DGFI detention centre

If there is one thing that differentiates the arbitrary detention of HM Rana from the other victims of enforced disappearance, it is that he knows exactly where he was inside the Dhaka Cantonment.

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Int’l day of the victims of enforced disappearances: Victim pinpoints DGFI detention centre

If there is one thing that differentiates the arbitrary detention of HM Rana from the other victims of enforced disappearance, it is that he knows exactly where he was inside the Dhaka Cantonment.

Almost every victim of enforced disappearance who came back alive said they were blindfolded the entire time while they were being transported and until they were taken inside their cells, or interrogation rooms.

They were similarly blindfolded when they were taken out of the centre and dropped off in random places.

HM Rana, a musician with Closeup-1 fame, was not picked up in the same manner as others. Other victims usually say they were picked up by men in plainclothes who showed up in unregistered microbuses with tinted windows in the middle of the night.

Since Rana's uncle was also in the military, he was escorted to the centre by a military officer on February 14 this year.

It was the day of his wedding reception.

"I was taken to a two-storey building with a chocolate-brown gate to the left of the CSD TESS restaurant next to the post office," said Rana, adding that the compound had a garden in front of it.

"Many old cars were parked in front of the building."

Rana gave The Daily Star a photo of the building.

"When I entered, I was taken through a metal detector arch similar to the ones seen at airports. There was a reception and behind the desk was a plaque reading 'Directorate General of Forces Intelligence'. A logbook at the reception had pages full of names with blue or red check marks. I saw that my name was written along with my reporting time -- Rana, 8:00am," he said.

He was led to a room that had sofas. "A man in a suit came in, followed by another. The men had sidearms and badges with DGFI written on them," said Rana.

And thus began the interrogation, which lasted 48 hours.

"At one point, they brought in various tools of torture and laid them out on a table in front of us. There were pliers and a bunch of rods with metal attachments running through their lengths. A man brought in a device with an extension cord that could be used to give electric shocks," he said.

As the questioning went on, the men brought the torture devices towards Rana and threatened him. "They brought the shock device towards my head and zapped my hair. A man with pliers threatened to pull my tongue out," he said.

At one point, they brought in a video camera and asked Rana to strip. As Rana was about to take off his clothes, a lady officer came in, and he was stopped.

"You know what to do when a body part has cancer right? You cut it off. You have come to the place, where we cut out the cancer of society," Rana quoted one of the men saying.

"I had heard about the fabled 'Aynaghar' and was fully convinced that this was one of those places," said Rana. "Late at night when I was alone with just two guards, I asked them if more people were in the facility. They said there were."

Before Rana was detained, he said he was getting dozens of calls every day from people claiming to be DGFI officers. "It was strange. They kept asking me to come in and said that if I didn't, they would have to come and get me, and that it would not go down well," he said.

Rana was let go on February 15, a day after his planned wedding reception.

"We never got a chance to have a big wedding, so on our anniversary – February 14 – we had arranged a reception. I had gotten my wife the red bridal dress of her dreams. I was taken into the DGFI at 8:00am in the morning, and the entire time, my family thought I would be coming back to attend the reception, but I never showed up. Guests arrived and left puzzled," he said.

He said he still does not know why he was picked up.

Earlier this month, a delegation of rights activists, led by Mayer Daak, a platform of the families of the victims of enforced disappearance, went to the DGFI headquarters seeking information about the victims.

The delegation was told that the DGFI has 23 facilities. To date, nobody has been given information about where the facilities are or if any detainees are held there.

The Daily Star was unable to contact the DGFI to get their comments.

Victims frequently allege that the DGFI had confined them to the cells, but statistics provided by Odhikar show that they are often not the force in the forefront.

Odhikar logged cases of 709 people who had been victims of enforced disappearance between 2009 and June 2024. Out of those, 206 people were picked up by Rab, 240 people were picked by the Detective Branch of police, and 104 by the police.

Only in 9 cases it was alleged that the DGFI was involved in picking up the victims, while in the cases of 129 others, the abductors could not be identified.

The rest were allegedly taken by the police's Criminal Investigation Department, Ansar, and Industrial Police.​

 

[Saif]

Bangladesh signs int’l instrument against enforced disappearance

The government on Thursday signed the Instrument of Accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

www.newagebd.net

Bangladesh signs int’l instrument against enforced disappearance
Mustafizur Rahman and Prattayee Chakma 29 August, 2024, 12:54

Bangladesh interim government’s chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus. | PID photo

The government on Thursday signed the Instrument of Accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus signed the instrument at the weekly meeting of the council of advisers at state guest house Jamuna, also his residence.

The accession came on the eve of UN-declared International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, to be observed today, under the convention adopted by the United Nations on December 20, 2006.

‘It is a historic occasion,’ said a release from the Chief Adviser’s Office quoting him as saying in his instant reaction at the meeting.

The development came days after the interim government formed a commission to investigate every allegation of enforced disappearance against security forces during Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year authoritarian rule.

‘It is a milestone development for us, especially for rights activists, to be a signatory to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance,’ interim government adviser and also spokesperson Syeda Rizwana Hasan told a press conference after the meeting.

She said that at least 700 victims of enforced disappearance still remained missing.

‘Firstly, victims of enforced disappearances will get protection and secondly, it will give a message to all that state agencies cannot be used against dissenting voices to cling to power anymore,’ she said, responding to a question.

Welcoming Bangladesh on being a signatory to the UN convention, United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion Irene Khan in a tweet said that it was an important step towards accountability and elimination of enforced disappearance and commitment to uphold human rights.

Local rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra in a press release said that by signing the international convention and forming an investigation commission, the interim government took a significant step towards overcoming the culture of impunity of agencies and environment of fear created through enforced disappearances and abductions.

On August 27, the interim government constituted a five-member commission of inquiry to investigate and identify the causes of enforced disappearances by the members of law enforcement agencies during the tenure of the Awami League government.

The commission has been asked to submit its report to the government within 45 working days and is tasked with identifying the individuals subjected to enforced disappearances by law enforcement agencies — such as Bangladesh Police, Rapid Action Battalion, Border Guard Bangladesh, Criminal Investigation Department, Special Branch, Detective Branch, Ansar Battalion, National Security Intelligence, Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, and Bangladesh Coast Guard— between January 1, 2010 and August 5, 2024, the day when Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled to India amid a student-led mass uprising.

Addressing an event on enforced disappearance in the city on Thursday, Sanjida Islam Tulee, cofounder of the Mayer Daak, a platform for families of the voctims of enforced disappearance, said that most of the victims of enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killing were with different political ideologies.

‘Most of the victims, who came back after secret detention, were scared to speak about their hellish experiences due to fear of the harassment again,’ she said, adding that the family members were also kept under all out surveillance in such cases.

Tulee, whose brother Shajedul Islam Sumon, a Bangladesh Nationalist Party activist, was still missing since his disappearance in 2013, demanded immediate return of the victims and trial of the perpetrators.

Most recently, three people were released from a secret detention cell, also known as Aynaghor after the August 5 mass uprising.

Former army brigadier general Abdullahil Aman Azmi, the second son of late Jamaat-e-Islami leader Ghulam Azam, and Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem, the youngest son of executed Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali, were released on August 6.

The next day on August 7, Mikel Chakma, a leader of the Chittagong Hill Tracts-based political party the United People’s Democratic Front, was freed after five years.

Mikel Chakma was picked up by a group on the way to Dhaka from Kanchpur in Narayanganj on April 9, 2019.

He shared that he was asked about his activism for the rights of the ethnic minority people.

‘They interrogated me frequently during the early days of my detention. At many points, I thought they would kill me,’ he said.

Mikel, who lost his father in 2020 during the time of his disappearance, demanded that the people involved in his and other people’s secret detention to must be brought to justice.

‘Our daughter was two years old and I was 4-month pregnant with my son at the time of Parvez’s disappearance,’ said Farzana Akhter, wife of Parvez, who was picked up by some men from Shahbagh.

Araf Hossain, 10, never seen his father Parvez Hossain as he was picked up by some people on December 2 in 2013 and never came back ever since.

She said that Parvez and five friends were chatting in the area when four, including him were picked up that day.

Farzana shared her struggle for the past 11 years as Parvez did not leave any money with the family.

She demanded return of his husband immediately and answers if he was killed.

Relatives of many such missing people have been waiting like Farzana for the return of their loved ones.

ASK senior coordinator Abu Ahmed Faijul Kabir told New Age that they did not have accurate data with them as many victims were scared of talking in front of media.

The international and local rights groups have long been demanding independent investigations into the ‘unabated enforced disappearances’ in Bangladesh, highlighting the lack of access to justice for victims during the Awami League regime.

They argued that incidents of enforced disappearances had become widespread since the Awami League took power in 2009.

The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on several occasions urged the Bangladesh government to provide information and respond to general allegations sent after its 125th session in September 2021.

In a written statement to the WGEID’s 128th session in September 2022, the Asian Human Rights Commission reported at least 623 cases of disappearances in Bangladesh between January 2009 and June 2022.

According to data collected by local rights body Odhikar, between January 2009 and June 2024, 709 people were subjected to enforced disappearance. Among them, 471 were surfaced alive and/or produced in court. Meanwhile, 83 victims were found dead, with some of them allegedly caught in ‘crossfire’ with security forces.

A joint statement by the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, Capital Punishment Justice Project, the International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances, the International Federation for Human Rights, Maayer Daak, Odhikar, Robert F Kennedy Human Rights, and the World Organisation Against Torture in commemoration of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances in 2024 said that under the deposed Sheikh Hasina administration, Bangladeshi law enforcement agencies and security forces systematically committed enforced disappearance.

Enforced disappearance was used to suppress political opposition, silence dissent, and create a climate of fear in the country. In the past decade, families of the victims of enforced disappearance were systematically denied legal redress, it alleged.

Victims of enforced disappearances mostly include academics, journalists, dissenting voices, and political activists belonging to the opposition.​

 

[Saif]

Where are our loved ones?

Ayesha Ali has been praying every day for over 10 years to see her son.

www.thedailystar.net

Where are our loved ones?
Families of the victims of enforced disappearances speak freely for first time, demand probe and justice

Overcome with emotion, a distraught Sadika Sarkar Safa, 10, speaks about her missing father Mahfuzur Rahman Sohel at a human chain in the Central Shaheed Minar area yesterday. Mahfuzur, a Chhatra Dal leader, has been missing since December 2013 when he was picked up by some plainclothes men in Dhaka. Mayer Daak, a platform of the families of the victims of enforced disappearances, organised the human chain marking the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. Photo: Prabir Das

Ayesha Ali has been praying every day for over 10 years to see her son.

As several people emerged from secret detention centres known as Aynaghar after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government early this month, Ayesha started hoping that her son Abdul Quader, who was 23 when he disappeared in December 2013, would knock on the door any moment.

"I touch his clothes everyday and I tell myself that he will come back. I keep looking out of the window, expecting to see him on the street," she said, breaking down in tears at a human chain at Central Shaheed Minar.

"Everyone says the country is now independent. Is the country not independent for my son?"

Other participants at the event then embraced Ayesha and tried to soothe her.

Quader, a student of finance at Jagannath University, was picked up by men claiming to be Rab members from the capital's Bashundhara area, family members said. He was a supporter of the BNP.

Many other family members of the victims of enforced disappearance were at the event, marking the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

Mayer Daak, a platform for the families, has been commemorating this day since 2013.

Speaking about her brother Mazharul Russel who has been missing since 2013, another participant named Nusrat Jahan also broke down.

"I want to touch my brother's hands. He used to take me to the school on his bicycle. I have nightmares of him being locked in a dark room alone. 'Find me,' he says to me," Nusrat said.

She then urged Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus to take steps to investigate the secret prisons.

She said there must be Aynaghar at the facilities of law enforcers where "my brother and others are probably detained".

"We want to know whether our loved ones are alive or dead," she added.

Twenty-two family members spoke at the human chain. Rights activists, politicians and lawyers expressed solidarity and demanded justice. Many held photographs of their missing loved ones.

Rina Alam, whose husband Noor Alam has been missing for more than nine years, said, "I want my husband back. If he is dead, I want to know for sure. I appeal to the chief adviser to do something to bring him back.

"Please tell us something; we can't go on waiting like this. Return my husband so that my children can call him baba."

Mikel Changma, a leader of a regional group based in the hill tracts, who was released this month from detention after over five years, said, "I urge all writers, poets, intellectuals, and students to support our struggle.

"If we cannot ensure the punishment of Hasina and those involved [in running secret prisons] right now, this system will continue to exist," he added.

Supreme Court Lawyer Sara Hossain said, "Our higher courts remained silent on this issue. We have seen no intervention from the courts about this matter."

Sadika Sarkar Safa, aged less than 11, was holding a photo of her father Mahfuzur Rahman Sohel who went missing 10 years ago.

"I want my father back. This is my only request to the new government," she said.

Maruf Zaman, a former diplomat, who was in detention for over a year, described the harrowing details of the conditions at DGFI Joint Interrogation Cell.

"Hundreds of people have used fish bones to cut their hands and write their names and phone numbers with blood inside the rooms. There are hundreds of names inside each cell. Where are they?" he asked.

Mayer Daak coordinator Sanjida Islam Tulee demanded that the detained persons be released and information about them be made public.

NEED LAW TO ENSURE JUSTICE

Mayer Daak organised a photo exhibition and discussion at the National Museum yesterday evening.

Environment Adviser Rizwana Hasan said the interim government was genuinely willing to find every disappeared individual.

"We are not part of the government responsible for these enforced disappearances. We want to stand beside the families that endured grief and ensure that the perpetrators behind face justice," she said.

Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua said the previous government's actions made it evident that it was behind these disappearances.

The previous administration repeatedly gave the excuse that there was no law to try those involved in enforced disappearance.

"We need a specific law. The president has the authority to pass laws through ordinances, which can later be approved by the elected government…. A special tribunal could define how this law should be formulated. Alternatively, the government could amend sections 363 and 364 of the CrPC to facilitate investigations into these cases," he said.

"Since Bangladesh is now a signatory [to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance], the National Human Rights Commission can now independently investigate these cases. In addition, our commission [on enforced disappearance] can also investigate. Reports from both commissions can be sent to the International Criminal Court, because these are instances of crimes against humanity."

Fisheries ministry Adviser Farida Akhter SPOKE​

 

[Saif]

'We want you to die. We won’t have to kill you then.'

Never did I imagine that I would be a victim of enforced disappearance one day.

www.thedailystar.net

'We want you to die. We won’t have to kill you then.'
Never did I imagine that I would be a victim of enforced disappearance one day

M Maroof Zaman

On December 4, 2017, around 6:45pm, I left my home and took my car to go to the airport to receive my younger daughter. As I started driving, I saw two motorcycles following me. I was aware that I was being monitored for the past year. I used to write a lot in the international media about the unequal agreements signed between India and Bangladesh, about the failures of the government and the injustices done by them.

I also wrote against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings but never did I imagine that I would be a victim one day.

From the time and turns the microbus took to reach my place of confinement, I could guess that I was taken to some place in the cantonment. First, they took me to a torture cell, beat me up severely, and hurled abuses at me. I told them to stop but they didn't. Then someone asked me, "Are you Maroof Zaman?" I replied, "Yes." He then asked, "Are you 'Banglar Bir'"? I said, "Yes, that's the name I use in the websites." They then beat me up again and took me to another small room.

I was kept there for four and a half months. Every three to four days, they used to come and torture me. They used to bring printouts of my writings and abuse me for what I wrote. They even called me a traitor. I protested by saying, "No, I am not a traitor. I wrote nothing against the state, I wrote to protect the interests of the country, I wrote against the injustices done by the government."

There were different levels of torture, namely grade one, grade two, and grade three. I was subjected to grade two level torture. Grade three torture means severe physical torture. While some young people may survive it, it is difficult for someone my age to survive such tortures. They told me that since I would not survive third-degree torture, they would instead give me injections, which would have severe impacts. They also used a high-powered light bulb and harsh noises to prevent me from sleeping.

On January 29, 2018, I heard a bullet shot and then someone was brought to my next room. Later, I heard someone saying: "He is no more". Another person was tortured through waterboarding. I didn't know what happened to him later.

Sometimes, I heard people saying, "Guard Shabdhan." This is a phrase used in the army by the guards to salute an officer. One day, I asked them to change my water bottles, as they were extremely dirty. A young man came with two water bottles, with the word "Shena" written on them. Also, on the first day of my abduction, when they handcuffed me, I could see that it was made of stainless steel, which is used by the security forces. I became certain that I was confined within the cantonment.

They hit me so much on my face that my teeth were broken. There was puss and blood coming out from my swollen gums. I asked them to take me to a doctor and get an X-ray done, but they rejected my appeal. I still have no sense in my gums and the nerves in one of my arms are severely damaged from the excessive beatings. I told them, "I will die if you don't give me treatment." They replied, "Die, we want you to die. We won't have to kill you then. You will die from your illness."

M Maroof Zaman is a former Bangladesh ambassador to Vietnam.​

 

[Saif]

'Is this new independence not for my son?'

Asks mother of a victim of enforced disappearance at human chain

www.thedailystar.net

'Is this new independence not for my son?'
Asks mother of a victim of enforced disappearance at human chain

Photo: Prabir Das

Mayer Dak, a platform for family members of the victims of enforced disappearance, today demanded the immediate release of information regarding disappeared individuals.

"On August 5, Sheikh Hasina fled. The remaining evil forces are still in the country. But the families of the disappeared individuals are yet to receive any information," said Sanjida Islam Tuli, the coordinator of Mayer Daak, at a human chain in the Central Shaheed Minar premises this morning on the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

From 10:30am to 1:00pm, human rights activists, politicians, lawyers, and relatives of the disappeared participated in the event.

Photo: Prabir Das

Carrying photographs, over 30 speakers spoke during the three-hour-long programme, raising their voices for justice and transparency.

Ayesha Ali, mother of Abdul Kader Masum, who has been missing, said, "The country has become independent again, but my son has yet to return home. Is this new independence not for my son?" she asked, breaking down in tears.

Nagorik Oikya President Mahmudur Rahman Manna expressed solidarity with the movement, saying, "I thank the current interim government for forming a commission and signing the instrument of accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances within a short time.

"Victory has been achieved through the student- and peoples-led movement. Relatives believe this victory will bring back their loved ones who have disappeared," Manna said.

Photo: Prabir Das

"The truth is that many among them will never return. This pain will have to be borne for a lifetime," he added.

Senior lawyer Sara Hossain, who also spoke at the event, said, "Just because the word 'disappearance' doesn't exist doesn't mean justice cannot be served… Our higher courts remained silent on this issue. We've seen no intervention from the courts on this matter," she said.​

 

[Saif]

Rights activists, victims call for preserving 'Aynaghor' as museum

Rights activists, researchers and victims of forced disappearance have called for preserving secret jails dubbed as 'Aynaghor' and run by different law enforcement or intelligence agencies as museums as proofs of ousted government's crimes. "So far, we have information of at least 13 such secret j

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Rights activists, victims call for preserving 'Aynaghor' as museum
BSS
Published :
Aug 30, 2024 19:09
Updated :
Aug 30, 2024 19:09

Rights activists, researchers and victims of forced disappearance have called for preserving secret jails dubbed as 'Aynaghor' and run by different law enforcement or intelligence agencies as museums as proofs of ousted government's crimes.

"So far, we have information of at least 13 such secret jails which were run by different agencies," said researcher and rights activist Rezaur Rahman Lenin at a discussion at RC Majumdar Auditorium of Dhaka University last night (August 29).

Lenin along with other speakers suggested the secret jails be preserved as proof of the crimes of the ousted government, its ministers and leading figures to let people know the actual stories of their heinous acts.

'Rodh,' a youth platform that uses paintings and other artworks for campaign against fascism, staged the discussion titled "Enforced Disappearances: Separation and Dissection".

Researcher and writer Sohul Ahmed said the incidents of forced disappearances or killings in the name of 'encounter' took place during every regime but after 2010, the then government carried out such heinous acts in an intensive manner using the Digital Security Act in a very systematic way to suppress opposition voices.

"The previous government tried to legitimise the crossfire and extrajudicial killings with almost identical press notes, but no one talked about enforced disappearance," he said.

Ahmed said from 2010 to 2024, at least 703 people were victims of forced disappearance and till date 153 remained untraced.

"There have been allegations against all the nine intelligence agencies of the country. They all need to be exposed to justice," he said.

Lenin, meanwhile, accused the Law commission, Anti-Corruption Commission and Human Rights Commission of failure to take any visible step against the enforced disappearance or encounters that took place in the last 53 years.

He said the interim government formed a five-member commission to investigate such incidents in the past 15 years but authorities should have consulted with stakeholders ahead of taking the decision.

Coordinator of Mayer Daak Sanjida Islam Tulee, Journalist of French news agency AFP Mohammad Ali Majed, and anthropologist and documentary photographer Moshfiqur Rahman Johan also addressed the discussion.

Artist and writer Debashish Chakrabarty, art critic Razib Datta, artist and writer Debashish Chakrabarty, and artistic Researcher Faysal Zaman, were among those who attended the discussion.​

 

[Saif]

Justice for victims of enforced disappearance

The nation recoiled in horror when it learnt about the horrific, inhumane happenings that befell the victims of enforced disappearance during the Sheikh Hasina led Awami League government. Harrowing nightmarish stories are emerging from those who had been victims of enforced disappearance and have

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Justice for victims of enforced disappearance
Atiqul Kabir Tuhin
Published :
Aug 31, 2024 23:15
Updated :
Aug 31, 2024 23:15

The nation recoiled in horror when it learnt about the horrific, inhumane happenings that befell the victims of enforced disappearance during the Sheikh Hasina led Awami League government. Harrowing nightmarish stories are emerging from those who had been victims of enforced disappearance and have lived to tell the tale of a secret detention centre called Aynaghar (House of Mirrors) or House of Horrors might be more appropriate.

Some earlier victims had indicated that there were notorious secret detention facilities, but couldn't fully describe the horror they experienced because apparently they were warned against speaking about their Aynahhar experience, or risk being re-arrested and returned there. With the fall of Sheikh Hasina and her government, the Aynaghar survivors are now coming forward to share their chilling and harrowing experiences of the horrors they endured.

Victim Michael Chakma - an indigenous rights activist who had been kidnapped and made to forcibly disappear for over five years - was held captive in such a clandestine prison, gives a shocking account of his captivity. Describing his conditions, which are akin to being in a grave, Chakma recounts the psychological and physical torture he endured in dark, confined spaces with little contact with the outside world and not knowing if his next breath was going to be his last.

His story is a frightfully chilling reminder of man's inhumanity to man, and the systemic abuse that characterised the previous government's approach to suppress dissent and opposition at all cost. The government totally denied the allegations at the time, of course, and claimed the victims were hiding to embarrass the government. A more outrageous violation of human rights is incomprehensible when the government and law enforcing agencies become the worst lawbreakers, disrespect human life and trample upon human dignity. How could we have descended to such depravity?

Mayer Daak (Mothers' Call), a group of the families of the victims of enforced disappearance, estimates that at least 750 people were forcibly made to disappear during AL regime. Of them, three victims were released following Sheikh Hasina government's fall, but the fate of the vast majority still remains a mystery. The three victims who were unceremoniously released back into society know nothing about where they were held, or who their captors were.

Against this gruesome backdrop that has appalled the nation, the interim government was quick to form a five-member Inquiry Commission to dig deep and investigate enforced disappearances by various intelligence and law enforcement agencies. In another significant development Bangladesh became a signatory to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance on August 29.

It is incumbent upon the interim government to take decisive action to prosecute those involved in the enforced disappearances with the full force of the law. The perpetrators, including state officials who recommended, ordered, or facilitated these scandalous acts, must be brought to justice and made to pay for their acts against humanity. A special tribunal should be established to handle these cases, ensuring that the victims and their families receive the justice they deserve. Additionally, all secret detention centres operated by law enforcement agencies should be exposed, opened for public scrutiny, and like the renowned concentration camp in Auschwitz, Poland, be open to tourists to peer at and learn from one of the darkest periods in the history of Bangladesh.

The excruciating pain experienced by families of the victims must not be prolonged. They deserve to know the truth in every detail, however horrific it may be. They have every right to learn what happened to their loved ones, what state forces were involved in these heinous crimes, and who orchestrated these acts of kidnap, torture, and killing. A transparent, comprehensive investigation with justice will at least provide some answers and some comfort, even if it can never erase the tears, sleepless nights, and pain they have endured.​

 

[Saif]

Secret prison: Where just staying alive was intolerably painful

Persons released from the secret detention facilities said simply staying alive in those unknown detention cells was intolerably painful

en.prothomalo.com

Secret prison: Where just staying alive was intolerably painful
The persons who were released from these secret detention facilities before and after Sheikh Hasina's government fell in the face of the student-people's movement, gave such accounts of the cells
Mahmudul HasanDhaka
Updated: 30 Aug 2024, 21: 24

Mayer Dak for long has been organising various events demanding the arrest and trial of persons involved in enforced disappearances and killings. The organisation formed a human chain in front of the National Press Club on 14 AugustFile Photo

A person would be picked up, blindfolded and hands tied. His entire face would be covered and a hat placed over his head. Then it was off to the secret detention facility. This was a small windowless room with a bright light constantly burning. There was no way to distinguish between day and night. Sometimes the light would be switched off and the room would plunge into pitch darkness. The noise of the exhaust fan was deafening and no outside sounds could be heard.

The persons who were released from these secret detention facilities before and after Sheikh Hasina's government fell in the face of the student-people's movement, gave such accounts of these cells.

They said, simply staying alive in those unknown detention cells was intolerably painful. It was a constant waiting for death, expecting them to take us away any minute.

Several of the victims said, they were subject to excessive physical torture after being picked up. Some of them were often taken to torture cells. When taken to the toilet, they would be blindfolded and handcuffed and could hear the screams and cries of others being tortured.

Sources working on enforced disappearances say that the abducted persons who had been in detention for long, would be kept in these cells. There were some who were immediately killed after being picked up or within a few days of being picked up.

In the Narayanganj seven-murder incident of 2014, the abducted persons were suffocated and killed by wrapping polythene around their heads. Then their abdomens were slit open, filled with cement or heavy objects and the bodies flung into the river. The bodies of some were recovered and some were never found.

After Sheikh Hasina came to power, from 2010 a trend began to abduct leaders and activists of the political opposition parties. This increased extensively before the 5 January 2014 election.

After Sheikh Hasina came to power, from 2010 a trend began to abduct leaders and activists of the political opposition parties. This increased extensively before the 5 January 2014 election. From the very outset it was alleged that the government's forces were involved in this, but the government at the time paid no heed. They would make taunting remarks like the person was "hiding from loan collectors because he owed money", and so on.

After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on 5 August in face of the student-people's uprising, the demand resounded even louder for the victims of enforced disappearance to be returned, to close down the secret detention cells and to place those involved on trial.

Today, 30 August, the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance is commemorated in this backdrop.

According to the non-government human rights organisation, Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), a total of 629 persons were victims of enforced disappearance from 2007 to 2023. Over time since then, the bodies of 78 were recovered and 59 persons were released after abduction. And 73 were later shown to be arrested. No trace of the remaining persons has been found.

Mayer Dak, the organisation of relatives of victims of enforced disappearance, on 18 August handed over to the director general of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) a list of 158 persons who remain missing. They went missing since after 2009.

While these families have long been holding various programmes in demand that the missing persons be returned, the secret detention facilities first came to light two years ago in 2022 when the Sweden-based media outlet Netra News came up with the report on Aynaghar, DGFI's secret detention centre. Released from detention, a few individuals, including an army officer, have revealed horrifying stories of Aynaghar.

Explaining the name Aynaghar (House of Mirrors), former army officer Lt. Col. Hasinur Rahman, twice a victim of enforced disappearance, said that the guard would sometimes sneeringly say, you are in Aynaghar. Aynaghar was metaphorical in the sense that you saw no one there other than yourself.

The Sheikh Hasina government did not admit to abducting persons or the existence of any secret detention facilities. They ignored the calls made by the United Nations and other international agencies. However, from the top level of the present interim government, it has been said that action is being taken in this regard.

Enforced disappearance and detention in the secret prison was the biggest fear for the movement against the government in power for 15 years, for criticising them in any manner.

The day after Sheikh Hasina left the country, on 6 August three persons were released from the secret detention facilities. They were Brig. Gen. Abdullahhil Amaan Azmi, lawyer Ahmad Bin Quasem (Arman) and Michael Chakma, leader of the Chittagong Hill Tracts organisation United Peoples Democratic Front (UPDF). The first two were almost eight years in the secret prison and the last one over five years.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Michael Chakma said, "Proper meals were not provided in the airless dark space enclosed by four walls. I was under such tremendous mental agony that I told them to kill me rather than keep me alive like this. I still can't sleep at night because of the horrific torture. I jump at the slightest sound."

Enforced disappearance and detention in the secret prison was the biggest fear for the movement against the government in power for 15 years, for criticising them in any manner. Those who were kept there were more dead than alive. Most of those who have been retrieved from the secret detention facilities are still in trauma.

Prothom Alo spoke to others who had been released from the secret prison earlier. They said that they underwent indescribable sufferings in the prison. There were large exhaust fans in the cells and the sound of these fans were so deafening, nothing from outside could be heard. No one could even sleep properly. And if the exhaust fans were turned off, some of them would hear screams and cries of others. They felt that they were intentionally made to listen to these tortured screams of the other inmates.

The persons who were released from the secret prison say that the rooms they were kept in were very small. Each would contain a 3ft by 7 ft bed, leaving just 3ft to 4ft space. There was no toilet in the rooms.

Most of the rooms were damp and dirty. There were bed bugs and mosquitoes. In the rooms on the sides of the building, a little light would enter through the ventilators. But the inner rooms were pitch dark. One couldn't even see oneself if there was an electricity failure.

The inmates were made to wear old clothes. The bed would be covered with a dirty sheet. There would be one toilet for every four or five rooms. A detainee would be allowed to use the toilet four or five times a day. They would be handcuffed and blindfolded and taken out of the room to go to the toilet. There was a hole in the door so the inmates were watched even when they were in the toilet. They were kept barefoot.

Former army officer Hasinur Rahman was abducted twice and detained for lengthy spans of time. Describing the torture, he said first he would be tightly blindfolded in the room where he was kept. Then he would be taken to the torture cell where his arms and legs would be tied to a chair. Some persons would be hung up from the ceiling. They would tear off the fingernails from some. They would torture however they wished. When anyone would go to the room crying out aloud, I would understand they had been tortured. The detained persons would be tortured once a month.

The persons released from the secret prisons said when they were in detention, most of them had given up hope of survival. Languishing for years in the prison, many thought they would die there. While Sheikh Hasina was in power, some of them were released from these secret facilities. But after the extreme torture they had faced, none of them dared open their mouths in fear.

Location of the secret prison

There is still no definite information about where Aynaghar or the secret detention facility is located. But from those who have been released, it is clear that the prison was run under the management of an institution. Some of them said that they saw the logo of the defence ministry on the medicines, food, books and other items they were given. Also, the behaviour and manner of talking of these guards, the physicians, the barbers and those who served them food, indicated they were working for the armed forces of an intelligence agency.

Former army officer Hasinur Rahman, who had been detained in Aynaghar twice, said during the rule of Pakistan, there had been a joint interrogation cell (JIC) in a building in Kochukhet in the cantonment. During the 1/11 government, many persons were tortured in those abandoned rooms. After Sheikh Hasina came to power, those rooms were used once again as detention and torture cells. Outside of that, RAB had its own secret detention facility to keep persons for a short time. The interrogation cell of the armed forces at times had also been misused as a detention facility.

Concerning the location of Aynaghar or the secret prison, Hasinur Rahman said Aynaghar was located around 30 to 30 yards behind the DGFI office in Kochukhet. From back in Pakistan times, there was a building there, the first floor 18ft high and the second floor 20ft high. Next to this is a mosque. The new building was made in 2009. The new building has 10 rooms and the old one 17 rooms.

Hasinur Rahman said, "After I became active about this matter, the two buildings were covered with a large tarpaulin so pictures could not be taken of the buildings from satellite."

The director of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) directorate was contacted yesterday, Thursday, for a statement on the allegations or discussions on the Aynaghar or secret detention centre in the cantonment near the DGFI office.

He said that inquiries must be made to find out about any such structure within the cantonment. Also, he said, DGFI was not a matter under the ISPR.

Others say that there were also torture cells in some branches of RAB and the police. It was said that such a secret detention facility had been set up by the railway tracks near the RAB-1 office in Uttara. Many of the victims of enforced disappearance had been kept there before the 2014 election. This was conjectured from the descriptions of a few of those who had been released.

A description of the RAB-1 prison has been revealed in the deliberations of former member of the armed forces Md. Mukul Hossain who was released from the secret detention facility.

Former corporal Mukul said he went missing on 3 February 2019 from Kalabagan. Later on 8 May he was shown arrested in a narcotics case.
The details of how Mukul was picked up, tortured and locked in a room for a long period of time, match the descriptions of others.

Towards the end, before he was released, he had been kept at the RAB-1secret detention centre. He would hear the sound of trains from there. Later RAB-1 handed him over to the airport police station and he was shown to be arrested in a narcotics case.

When asked about any such detention facilities of RAB here victims of enforced disappearance were kept, the present RAB director of legal and media affairs Lt Col Md Munim Ferdous told Prothom Alo yesterday, Thursday, the officers who were there at the time will best know about this. But RAB has no secret prison now. He said, "If the commission formed for enforced disappearances or the concerned authorities want to investigate these matters, we will extend all cooperation."

Demand to punish those involved and to close the prison
Talking to several sources concerning the secret detention facilities, it was learnt that at present there is no one in any such facilities. The present government is against maintaining any such facilities.

Human rights organisations, however, say that alongside shutting shut facilities down, all those involved must be punished so no one in the future will even think of acting in such a manner.

In his speech delivered to the nation of 25 August, chief advisor Dr Muhammad Yunus said, "The patriotic armed forces, the police, BGB, and RAB were used for enforced disappearances and torture, tarnishing the image of these institutions. We want to identify the criminal and punish them. He said that justice will be ensure for all the extrajudicial killings, the enforced disappearances, killings, abductions and the ultimate despicable misdeeds like running Aynaghar."

Yesterday, Thursday, Bangladesh signed the international convention against enforced disappearances. Earlier on 27 August an inquiry commission was formed to look into the incidents of enforced disappearances carried out by the law enforcement agencies during the rule of the Awami League government.

The circular regarding this commission said, this inquiry commission has been formed to search for persons who fell victim to enforced disappearance at the hands of the any members of the police, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the Special Branch, the Detective Branch, Ansar Battalion, National Security Intelligence, the defence forces, DGFI, Coast Guard and other law enforcement agencies.

Md Noor Khan has for long been working on the issues of enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killings.

He told Prothom Alo, "We have learnt that the joint interrogation cell, Aynaghar or the secret prison whatever we may call it, is not just one place, but in many places. It must be found where these facilities existed and whether anyone is still there."

He further said detailed investigations must also be made into who ordered the enforced disappearances, at what level the decisions for enforced disappearances were taken, whether any individual or any agency or force took the decision, what the process of decision-making was and all details. All those involved must be brought under the law.

* The report, originally published in the print and online editions of Prothom Alo, has been rewritten in English by Ayesha Kabir​