Enforced disappearances increased ahead of elections: Commission report

While the Awami League was in power, 61 cases of enforced disappearance occurred in 2012, and the number more than doubled the following year. Again, in 2018, the number of enforced disappearances was higher than in the year after.

Presenting year-by-year data, the report of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances states that incidents of enforced disappearance increased ahead of elections, with leaders, activists, and supporters of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami being selectively targeted.

During the Awami League’s 16 years in power, enforced disappearance became a routine occurrence. After the fall of this government in 2024 following the student–public uprising, the interim government formed the Commission of Inquiry into Enforced Disappearances. The five-member commission, headed by Justice Moinul Islam Chowdhury, submitted its final report to the Chief Adviser on 4 January.

Page 16 of the report states that ahead of elections, BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and activists were arrested en masse and selectively subjected to enforced disappearance.

Amid repression against opposition forces during the Awami League’s time in power, three elections were held in 2014, 2018 and 2024—all of which were controversial.

The 2014 and 2024 elections were boycotted by most parties. Although all parties participated in the 2018 election, it became known as a “night-time vote” because ballot boxes were allegedly stuffed before polling day.

The report says there was a link between the rise and fall of enforced disappearances and politically turbulent moments, security crises and elections.

The increase in enforced disappearances in 2013 is linked to the election held the following year (5 January 2014). A similar trend was observed surrounding the 2018 election.

Ahead of the 2014, 2018 and 2024 elections, BNP and Jamaat leaders and activists were more frequently subjected to enforced disappearance.

The commission also said that law enforcement agencies picked up opposition leaders and activists ahead of major political rallies and protests.

According to the report, 948 people were subjected to enforced disappearance due to their political identity. The total number of people who remain missing is 157.

The figure of 948 includes both those who remain missing after enforced disappearance and those who later returned. Among the victims of enforced disappearance, leaders and activists of Jamaat and its affiliated organizations were more numerous.

However, among those who did not return after disappearance—that is, those who remain missing, BNP leaders and activists and those of its affiliated organisations were more numerous.

Of the total missing persons, 68 per cent are leaders and activists of the BNP and Jubo Dal, while 22 per cent are leaders and activists of Jamaat–Shibir.

Stating that political identity is crucial to understanding enforced disappearances, the report says political affiliation reveals who was at greater risk and whether enforced disappearance was a general law and order issue or was carried out with specific targets and objectives.

There are allegations that after coming to power in 2009, the Awami League began using enforced disappearance as a tool to suppress opposition views.

The commission documented a total of 1,564 incidents of enforced disappearance between 2009 and 2024. The highest number of enforced disappearances occurred in 2016.

In 2016, there were 215 cases of enforced disappearance. The second-highest year was 2017, with 194 cases. In 2018, the number was 192. In 2019, it was 118. In 2020 and 2021, the numbers were 51 and 56 respectively.

In 2022, the number rose again to 110. In 2023, it declined to 65 and in 2024 the number was 47. In August of that year, Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power and fled the country.

In 2009, the year the Awami League returned to power, there were 10 cases of enforced disappearance. The number continued to rise thereafter.

In 2010, the number increased to 34. In 2011, it rose to 47. In 2012, there were 61 cases. The following year, 2013, saw 128 cases of enforced disappearance. In 2014, the number declined somewhat to 95. In 2015, it rose again to 141.

A total of 1,913 complaints were submitted to the commission. After verification, 1,569 complaints were classified as enforced disappearance according to the definition. Among these, 287 complaints fell into the “missing and dead” category.

The commission also identified a connection between fluctuations in enforced disappearances and changes in leadership within various agencies.

The report states that changes in institutions and leadership within agencies involved in enforced disappearances coincided with a reduction in the number of such incidents.

By way of example, the report says that when Major General Ziaul Ahsan was removed from his post as additional director general (Operations) of RAB in 2016, the number of enforced disappearances declined.

This does not mean that the practice stopped altogether. Rather, during this period, a small number of people remained permanently missing, while many were later found in custody or produced before courts, the report says.

The commission notes that after the United States imposed sanctions on RAB in December 2021 over continued enforced disappearances, there was some disruption in such incidents.

However, this did not last long. The Awami League government turned counterterrorism and preventive detention laws into weapons to suppress opposition views.

The report says that after coming to power in 2009, the Awami League faced national and international criticism over extrajudicial killings.

In the same year, Bangladesh participated in the United Nations Universal Periodic Review to assess the human rights situation of member states.

Due to international scrutiny of human rights conditions, pressure mounted on the government to adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward extrajudicial killings.

To reduce this international pressure, the Awami League government changed its strategy. Instead of extrajudicial killings, it chose enforced disappearance as a means to suppress dissenting views.