Hasina involved in forced disappearances, says Bangladesh inquiry commission

Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearance implicates former PM Sheikh Hasina in human rights abuses in Bangladesh.

In a new turn of events, the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearance set up by the interim government of Bangladesh filed a report on Saturday (December 14, 2024) stating that it found the “involvement of Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina” in enforced disappearances of individuals during her tenure.

The report recommended disbanding the anti-terror outfit Rapid Action Battalion that was instrumental in crackdown against terror suspects and was accused of human rights abuse. The commission said it has recorded 1,676 cases of disappearances and that the total number of such cases during the Hasina-era could cross 3,500.

Earlier in the day, the authorities arrested four persons in connection with attacks on the minority Hindu community on December 3. The arrests came days after Indian Foreign Secretary visited Dhaka and urged the authorities to “acknowledge” the attacks on minorities in Bangladesh.

The case of violence against Hindus involved a social media post by one Akash Das which created communal tension in Sunamganj district, leading to attacks against Hindu-owned business and a place of worship. Those arrested in this incident are Ali Hossain (19), Sultan Ahmed Raju (20), Imran Hossain (31) and Shajahan Hossain (20).

On the inquiry, a statement from the Chief Adviser’s Office said, “The commission chairman said they had found the prima facie involvement of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and some high-ranking officials of security forces and her government, including her defence adviser, Major General (retd.) Tarique Ahmed Siddique, in the enforced disappearances.”

Presenting the report at a special event in the residence of the Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus, the commission informed that it would bring out another interim report in March and would require another year to complete the scrutiny of all the complaints received so far.

Apart from Ms. Hasina and Mr. Siddique, the commission also found the involvement of former director general of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre and sacked Major General Ziaul Ahsan, senior police officers Monirul Islam and Md. Harun-Or-Rashid with “several incidents of enforced disappearance”. Submitting the report, the commission’s chairman said it had detected a “systematic design” to avoid detection of the cases of enforced disappearances.