DHAKA, Bangladesh: Bangladesh’s interim authorities have initiated a significant investigation Wednesday into the enforced disappearances committed by security forces under the ousted premier Sheikh Hasina.
This inquiry specifically targets the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), a notorious paramilitary force implicated in numerous human rights abuses and previously sanctioned by the United States for its involvement in extrajudicial killings and disappearances.
Human Rights Watch reported last year that since Hasina’s rise to power in 2009, over 600 enforced disappearances have been recorded, with nearly 100 individuals still unaccounted for.
Many of the victims were political opponents of Hasina, including members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami. Hasina’s administration had previously dismissed these allegations, suggesting some missing persons had perished in Mediterranean migrant routes.
The newly formed five-member commission, led by retired High Court judge Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, will also examine abuses by other security forces, such as the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). The UN has criticized both the RAB and BGB for serious human rights violations, including torture.
This investigation follows Hasina’s abrupt resignation and flight to India on August 5, triggered by intense student-led protests. The interim government, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, has given the committee 45 days to deliver its findings.
Advocates, including Sanjida Islam Tulee from the Mayer Daak group, have welcomed the commission but stress the need for full transparency and justice. Families of the missing continue to demand the return of their loved ones and accountability for those responsible for the disappearances.
