A mother with a photo of her son who became a victim of forced disappearance in 2013 (image by VOA)
Enforced disappearances in Bangladesh are cases in which the Government of Bangladesh directly or indirectly kidnaps people and holds them incommunicado.[1] According to a Dhaka-based human rights group Odhikar, at least 402 people have become victim of enforced disappearance from 2009 to 2017 under the current Awami League administration.[2] These incidents along with extrajudicial killings in Bangladesh has been criticized by The United Nations and human rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.[3][4] Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), a special paramilitary unit in Bangladesh, is alleged to be behind most of these disappearances even though RAB claimed these allegations to be false.[5] The current Awami League government denies involvement in these forced disappearances even when victims later surface in custody.[2]
According to the report of a domestic human rights organization, 82 people were forcefully disappeared from January to September in 2014.[4] The activists and leaders of opposition parties constitute the majority of the victims. After the disappearances, at least 39 of the victims were found dead while others remained missing.[6][7] Before the controversial national election of 2014, at least 20 opposition men were picked up by the security forces.[8][9] At least 89 people have been victims of enforced disappearances in 2016.[10]
In 2016, the families of the victims of enforced disappearance in Bangladesh founded a platform Mayer Daak to press their demand to know the whereabouts of their loved ones who disappeared under mysterious situation.[11][12] On August 14, 2022, Netra News, which is blocked in Bangladesh, published a whistleblower report alleging that Bangladesh officials were holding and torturing victims of enforced disappearances at Aynaghar, a secret detention facility (house of mirrors).[13]
^"Enforced disappearance". New Age. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
^ abSafi, Michael (25 November 2017). "Bangladesh PM claims 'forced disappearances take place in UK and US'". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
^Rowlatt, Justin (13 October 2016). "Fears over Bangladesh's 'disappeared'". BBC News. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
^ ab"ASK DOCUMENTATION: Forced Disappearances" (PDF). Incidents of Enforced Disappearances Between January and 30 September 2014. Ain o Salish Kendra. 13 October 2014.
^Khan, Aina. "Without a trace: Enforced disappearances in Bangladesh". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
^Maaz Hussain (1 November 2016). "Enforced Disappearances Rise in Bangladesh". Voice of America. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
^Anbarasan, Ethirajan (21 April 2012). "'Enforced disappearances' haunt Bangladesh". BBC News.
^Cite error: The named reference TDS-1325197 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE: Families call for return of 19 youths". New Age. 5 December 2015.
^"Human Rights Day". The Daily Star. 11 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
^"Sentenced to torment". The Daily Star. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
^""Mayer Daak" formed a human chain - Back Page". The Daily Observer. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
^"Bangladesh: Allow UN to Assist 'Disappearance' Inquiries". Human Rights Watch. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
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