‘If I knew my father died, at least I could have offered prayers for him’

During the previous Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15 and a half years in office, the word “disappearance” became synonymous with terror. State forces were deployed to abduct political opponents, critics and dissenting voices at various times. While the bodies of some were later recovered, many remain untraced.

According to figures provided by the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, at least 300 people are still missing. The commission considers the likelihood of their safe return extremely limited.

Thus, countless loved ones have been reduced to little more than a statistic in the tally of disappearances, leaving families in unending anticipation.

Nearly 12 years ago, on 27 November 2013, Md Saiful Islam (Hiru), President of the BNP’s Laksam Upazila unit and former Member of Parliament, along with Md Humayun Kabir (Parvez), President of Laksam Pourashava BNP, were forcibly disappeared.

Humayun Kabir’s son, Shahriar Ratul, told Prothom Alo on Friday, “I still do not want to accept that my father is gone. Yet, if Allah has not granted him life, had I known he was no longer alive, at least I could have consoled my heart. I could have gone to the place where his remains lie, offered two rakats of prayer and recited supplications for my father.”

It is against this backdrop that, 30 August, the International Day of the Victims of disappearances is being observed. On 29 August last year, Bangladesh signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Two days earlier of 2024, on 27 August, the present interim government established a commission to investigate cases of enforced disappearance involving law enforcement agencies.

The practice of enforced disappearance as a political tool began in 2010 under Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian rule, primarily targeting opposition party leaders, activists and dissenters.

Ahead of the one-sided election of 5 January 2014, disappearances occurred on a large scale. Yet, the then Awami League government consistently denied such incidents, instead offering demeaning claims that victims had either “gone into hiding” or “fled due to creditors.”

The Commission of Inquiry states that enforced disappearances under the Awami League regime generally led to four possible outcomes. Victims were abducted and killed, with their bodies concealed; falsely shown as arrested under the Anti-Terrorism Act; sent across the border to India to be detained by Indian law enforcement; or in a small number of cases, shown as arrested under fabricated charges.

Sources affirm that after the fall of the Awami League government, a number of detainees were released from secret detention centres. For those who have still not returned, it is now certain they are no longer in custody, with the majority believed to have been killed.

On 17 April 2012, BNP’s then Organising Secretary Elias Ali and his driver Ansar Ali were forcibly disappeared from Banani, Dhaka.

Speaking to Prothom Alo on Friday, his wife, Tahsina Rushdir (Luna), said, “We still have no knowledge of his fate. The commission is investigating and has informed us that a special unit was involved. This makes their work extremely difficult. I demand a fair trial. I want to know the truth.”

The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances has reported four measures undertaken to trace missing persons. First, police have been provided with a list of missing individuals and instructed to locate them. Two, based on specific information, the commission is conducting searches in different areas. Third, the list of Bangladeshi detainees in Indian prisons is being cross-checked against the list of missing persons. Fourth, efforts are being made to determine whether any of those being “pushed in” across the border from neighbouring countries are among the missing.

The police have now begun to pursue legal action in disappearance cases during the (now-banned) Awami League regime where no cases or legal proceedings were initiated at the time.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam told Prothom Alo, “Many people were disappeared during the tenure of the previous government, but no cases were filed then. Now, abduction cases are being registered. The Commission on Disappearances has referred 160 such cases, which have been sent to the relevant police stations for necessary action.”

According to commission sources, they have so far obtained a list of 996 Bangladeshi detainees in Indian prisons. None of the missing persons are on this list. The commission is now awaiting a second list.

The commission has also received approximately 1,850 complaints of enforced disappearance. As some complaints were lodged through multiple channels, duplicates were removed, leaving more than 1,700 verified cases.

Furthermore, during the investigation, new incidents have surfaced in which no formal complaints had previously been lodged. The commission intends to complete its investigations and submit a final report by December of this year, having already submitted two interim reports to the government.  

Several members of the commission have stated that victims’ families remain gripped by fear. Many relatives, unable to find their loved ones, are struggling to lead normal lives. In some cases, those implicated in disappearances have continued to threaten victims’ families and the commission has received records of such intimidation.

Regarding progress in investigations, the commission’s chair, retired Justice Moinul Islam Chowdhury, told Prothom Alo, “The majority of missing persons have had no trace for 10, 12, or 14 years. Under the law, if a person remains missing for seven years, it may be presumed they are no longer alive. However, it is true that the likelihood of survival for most of the missing is extremely low. Even so, the commission is making every possible effort to trace them.”