[🇧🇩] UN investigation into enforced disappearances /deaths of students/citizens at the hands of security agencies

[Saif]

Fakhrul calls for UN-led probe into cases of enforced disappearance

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today urged the interim government to initiate an investigation under the United Nations into incidents of enforced disappearances that have plagued Bangladesh over the past 15 years

www.thedailystar.net

Fakhrul calls for UN-led probe into cases of enforced disappearance

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today urged the interim government to initiate an investigation under the United Nations into incidents of enforced disappearances that have plagued Bangladesh over the past 15 years.

Speaking at a solidarity meeting, he also called upon the government to take steps to provide allowances to each family of the victims of enforced disappearance.

"I have been in politics for a long time...I knew about arrests and killings, but we were not aware of enforced disappearances. Since the Awami League came to power, their law enforcement agencies have used state power to commit such heinous crimes against humanity," the BNP leader said.

He appreciated that the current government, led by Prof Muhammad Yunus, has signed the UN convention against enforced disappearances.

"It is also encouraging that, for the first time in Bangladesh, a team from the UN has arrived to take steps against the misdeeds committed by the (Sheikh Hasina's) autocratic regime," he said.

Fakhrul said this is an initial fact-finding UN team which will investigate the killings that have occurred over the past two months,

"I urge the government to engage with the UN Human Rights Commission to investigate all the crimes against humanity, killings, and enforced disappearances that have occurred over the past 15 years. If the interim government makes this request, the UN will certainly do it," he said.

The BNP leader thanked the interim government for forming a five-member commission to find out forcibly disappeared people by the law enforcement agencies. "It's a good step. But I also urge the government to ensure that allowances are provided to every family of the victims of enforced disappearance."

Justifying his call for providing allowances, Fakhrul said many families are enduring significant hardship, struggling to support themselves, raise their children, and provide them with education. "It is the state's duty to support these families. Even as we enjoy democracy, the children of those who have disappeared will never get their parents back, and those who have lost their husbands will never be reunited with them. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the state to take care of these families."

Expressing solidarity with the pain and suffering of the families of the victims of enforced disappearances, the BNP leader said these families have long been sharing their distress. "When a child like Safa says, 'I want to walk down the street holding my father's hand and I want to go to Eid prayers with him,' as a father, I cannot bear to witness such a pin."

He said the state must restore the rights of the families of those who have been subjected to enforced disappearances and ensure justice for them. "We know the identities of those responsible for these disappearances. We need to find and hold accountable those who were in positions of authority, such as members of the RAB and special police units, and ensure they are punished."

Fakhrul questioned why the dangerous individuals involved in enforced disappearances have not been arrested. "It pains us to see political leaders being detained, yet not a single person involved in murder, torture, or enforced disappearances has been arrested."

He expressed hope that the perpetrators of the incidents of enforced disappearance will be arrested and punished soon. "We must work towards transforming Bangladesh into a genuinely accountable democratic state."

In observance of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, a solidarity meeting was held in front of the BNP's central office in Nayapaltan to remember the victims.

During the meeting, family members of those who have disappeared, from BNP and its affiliated organizations, expressed their deep anguish in moving terms, prompting thousands of leaders and activists to show their solidarity with tears.

Earlier in the morning, 'Mayer Dak,' a platform representing the families of the disappeared, organized a human chain at the Central Shaheed Minar. The event saw participation from human rights activists, politicians, lawyers, and relatives of the missing.​

 

[Saif]

How could we have descended to such depravity?

Extrajudicial killings and disappearances should never reappear

www.thedailystar.net

How could we have descended to such depravity?
Extrajudicial killings and disappearances should never reappear

Illustration: Biplob Chakroborty

We congratulate Prof Yunus's government for joining the UN treaty on enforced disappearances. We also welcome the formation, last Tuesday, of an inquiry commission to investigate extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances and to report within 45 days. Headed by a retired high court judge, the commission will investigate the activities of the police, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Special Branch (SB), National Security Intelligence (NSI) and the military's Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI). Instead of working for the protection of the state, government, or society, these intelligence agencies became extensions of the government's policy of quelling dissent, obliterating the opposition and controlling the independent media.

This is one of the most urgent, important and pro-people initiative that the interim government could have taken, and we congratulate the relevant adviser or advisors for this initiative. We, from the media and this particular newspaper, wish the commission resounding success. We need not only to do justice to the victims but also ensure that it does not reoccur.

It is the latter task that engages us more. The practice of using security agencies to extend ruling party domination and especially to destroy the opposition is, sadly, not something that was started by Awami League. Although it can be said to have reached its zenith with the widespread practice of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killing under Sheikh Hasina's rule, it began with the entry of the armed forces into direct politics when Bangabandhu was assassinated. We know for a fact that when BNP was being organised in the late seventies, several security agencies were used to cajole, convince and compel politicians and civil society members to join it. This was followed by Gen Ershad's nearly decade-long rule, during which he also used them to form his party and control the opposition. We all expected that this notorious practice would cease with the restoration of democracy and representative government in 1991.

Regrettably, this practice continued under the elected governments of both BNP and AL, reaching its most ignominious apex in the attempted assassination of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 21, 2004, in which security agencies were clearly and elaborately involved. A total of 23 people, including the head of AL's women wing, were killed.

Thus, over the last three decades—since 1991, when we expected transparent, people-centred politics to replace behind-the-scenes manipulation—the involvement of security agencies increased in proportion to the political leadership of the day losing public trust. Sheikh Hasina's 15-year rule stands as a lesson in how a political party of AL's legacy, reach and organisation became increasingly dependent on security agencies. This dependency included allowing them into the inner workings of party operations, such as vetting candidates for nearly all tiers of the party, to the extent that aspiring leaders at the union and district levels sought the blessings of security agencies to achieve their ambitions.

Many factors contributed to Sheikh Hasina's downfall, but perhaps the most heart-wrenching was, especially after 2010, the practice of picking people up from their homes and streets and then making them disappear for months or years without the slightest need to inform anyone—including their families—about their fate. Sometimes, their dead bodies would appear in the most unlikely places. Sometimes, they would return home but remain silent for fear of further repercussions. But most often, they would just disappear for weeks, months, or years, never to return.

Just imagine the agony of their loved ones. Death, however cruel, draws the curtain on a tragedy. But disappearances represent a continuous suffering mixed with hope that one day the family will open the door and find their loved one—father, husband, son, friend—miraculously returned. Each knock on the door became both a flicker of hope and a sense of deep disappointment. Imagine this going on for years.

One of the fundamental responsibilities of a modern state is to ensure the safety of life and property—we are leaving aside the question of liberty for the moment. This assurance was not provided in Bangladesh under Sheikh Hasina's regime, especially since 2010. According to Odhikar, a human rights organisation that maintained a well verified record of disappearances—despite facing significant challenges, including jailing of its chief, who is now an advisor in Prof Yunus's cabinet—there were a total of 708 victims of enforced disappearances between 2009 and June 2024. Of these 708 victims, 57 percent returned alive, 13 percent were found dead and nothing has been known about the remaining 30 percent. The practice of "picking up" victims from homes or streets was carried as follows: 31 percent by Rab, 30 percent by the Detective Branch (DB), 22 percent by DGFI (mostly accompanied by Rab) and 14 percent by the police.

According to a report by Zyma Islam, published on August 30, 2022, at least 522 individuals became victims of enforced disappearances between 2009 and 2018. Most survivors who returned home never spoke about their experiences for fear of reliving their hellish ordeals. However, a few who did speak confirmed our worst fears. One said, "They attached two crocodile clips to my two ear lobes and when switched on, sent electric shock damaging my eardrums during interrogation." Another said his hands were cuffed behind his back throughout his detention, which varied from two months to two and a half years. According to the detainees, the cells were 2.5 feet wide, 4 feet long and 5 feet high—too small to lie down or stand up. It was always half-sitting or half-lying. Such cruelty resembles medieval torture. Despite being underground, dark and without windows, the detainees were blindfolded throughout their captivity, except for basic needs and showers.

The stories of "Aynaghar" (House of Mirrors) represent another level of torture and cruelty that we have recently been exposed to. These constitute gross violations of human rights and reveal the existence of secret prisons that are completely unmonitored and devoid of legal oversight. They were run totally arbitrarily and at the whims of their officers. A retired army officer and a Supreme Court lawyer were kept in such secret prisons for eight years and would likely have remained there if not for the fall of the regime. Mikel Changma, a leader from the Chattogram Hill Tracks area, did not see sunlight for five years (2019-2024) of his confinement.

While the inquiry commission on disappearances is expected to reveal its report within 45 days, immediate steps should be taken to allow families and rights activists to visit all 23 prisons that the DGFI has committed to opening to the public. All those who have been cruelly and illegally detained must be returned to their families immediately.

We must never fall into such depths of cruelty and inhumanity again. Enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings are a shame on our dreams from the Liberations War and must be eradicated forever. Too much power and arbitrariness have been allowed to security agencies in the name of fighting extremism. We hope the commission will lay down a clear legal framework so that nobody is made to suffer as we saw in the last 15 years.

Mahfuz Anam is the editor and publisher of The Daily Star.​

 

[Saif]

Touhid reaffirms internationally credible probe into recent massacre

Foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain has reaffirmed the interim government's commitment to conducting an impartial and internationally credible investigation into the recent Bangladesh massacre and ensuring that due judicial processes are followed.

en.prothomalo.com

Touhid reaffirms internationally credible probe into recent massacre
BSS Dhaka
Updated: 31 Aug 2024, 18: 37

Foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain attends OIC's 50th Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Cameroon. BSS

Foreign adviser Md Touhid Hossain has reaffirmed the interim government's commitment to conducting an impartial and internationally credible investigation into the recent Bangladesh massacre and ensuring that due judicial processes are followed.

He made the remark while highlighting the events leading to the second revolution through a mass uprising of people led by the valiant students in Bangladesh at the OIC's 50th Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Cameroon.

The foreign adviser led a two-member Bangladesh delegation at the CFM held in Cameroon's capital Yaound, from 29-30 August, a foreign ministry's press release said here today, Saturday.

During the CFM, Hossain informed the meeting on Bangladesh's accession to the UN Convention on Protection for all persons from enforced disappearance.

He reiterated Bangladesh's continued engagements with the OIC and strong commitment to establish peace process for Palestine, denounce Islamophobia, hate-crimes against Muslims.

The foreign adviser also said Dhaka is keen to engage in further trade and investment with the OIC member states by strengthening the Bangladesh's transportation and communication infrastructure.

This year, the CFM was held with the theme "Intra OIC transportation and communication infrastructure" where several political, economic, social, cultural and security issues were discussed.

A resolution namely 'Situation of the Rohingya Muslim Community in Myanmar' has been adopted unanimously to keep the momentum in exerting continuous pressure on Myanmar authorities.

Foreign adviser Hossain also had a call-on with his counterparts of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan on the sidelines of the CFM.

Meanwhile, on 29 August, an Open-ended Meeting of the OIC Ad Hoc Ministerial Committee on Accountability for Human Rights Violations against the Rohingyas was also held on the margin of the CFM.

The foreign adviser highlighted the current situation in the Rakhine State and urged all to maintain international pressure on Myanmar for a quick solution to the problem.​

 

[Saif]

UN fact-finding team calls for first-hand info on human rights violations during July-August movement

At the invitation of the interim government, a UN Human Rights Office fact-finding team is conducting an independent investigation into alleged human rights violations centring the student-led protests and its fallout

www.thedailystar.net

UN fact-finding team calls for first-hand info on human rights violations during July-August movement

The fact-finding team of the UN Human Rights Office have invited individuals, groups, and organisations to provide first-hand information, that is not already in the public domain, of human rights violations and abuses committed between July 1 and August 15.

Submissions should be sent to OHCHR-FFTB-Submissions@un.org, said a press release.

At the invitation of the interim government, a UN Human Rights Office fact-finding team is conducting an independent investigation into alleged human rights violations centring the student-led protests and its fallout.

The fact-finding team is mandated to establish facts, identify responsibilities, analyse root causes, and make concrete recommendations for Bangladesh to address past human rights violations and prevent their recurrence, a press release said here today.

The team also plans to conduct interviews with victims, law enforcement officers, medical practitioners, and witnesses.

The fact-finding is not a criminal investigation and is conducted independently of any national criminal justice process.

The fact-finding process is strictly confidential. The team will not be conducting any media interviews during the investigation phase. We appeal for respect for the confidentiality of the fact-finding process.

After its on-site examination and data analysis, the UN Human Rights Office will publish a detailed human rights report containing key findings, conclusions, and recommendations.​

 

[Saif]

Plea seeks probe into allegations of enforced disappearance in 15 yrs

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) yesterday received a plea seeking a probe into allegations of enforced disappearance, which took place in the last 15 years in the country

www.thedailystar.net

Plea seeks probe into allegations of enforced disappearance in 15 yrs

The International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) yesterday received a plea seeking a probe into allegations of enforced disappearance, which took place in the last 15 years in the country.

Enamul Kabir, a businessman who himself was allegedly a victim of enforced disappearance, filed the plea with the ICT prosecution wing.

"Kabir was picked up from his Basabo office on November 17, 2018, by detective branch (DB) of police. He had been kept confined at DB office with his hands and legs tied at the order of the then officer Moshiur. Ultimately on November 26, a fake explosive case was filed against him," chief prosecutor Advocate Tajul Islam said.

The chief prosecutor further said complainant also accused 25, including ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in his plea.​