Bangladesh’s new authorities have launched an investigation into hundreds of enforced disappearances by security forces during the tenure of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the government announced on Wednesday.
The probe includes the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), a notorious paramilitary force known for numerous human rights abuses and sanctioned by the United States for its involvement in extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
Human Rights Watch reported last year that security forces had committed over 600 enforced disappearances since Hasina’s rise to power in 2009, with nearly 100 individuals still unaccounted for.
Many of those detained were from Hasina’s political opponents, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party. Hasina’s government consistently denied these allegations, suggesting some missing individuals may have drowned while attempting to reach Europe.
Hasina fled to India by helicopter on August 5 after student-led protests forced her to resign, ending her 15-year rule.
The investigation will be conducted by a five-member committee led by retired high court judge Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, which will also look into other paramilitary police units, including the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), according to a government order issued late Tuesday.
The UN human rights office has reported serious violations by both RAB and BGB, including enforced disappearances, torture, and ill-treatment.
The commission, set up by the interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, has 45 working days to complete and submit its report.
Sanjida Islam Tulee, coordinator of Mayer Daak (The Call of the Mothers), a group advocating for the release of detained individuals, welcomed the commission and stressed the importance of a fully transparent report. Tulee, who previously met Yunus with other family members seeking action, emphasized the need for the commission to listen to all affected families and ensure justice for those responsible.
The UN rights team’s preliminary report indicated that more than 600 people were killed in the weeks leading up to Hasina’s departure, suggesting the toll might be higher. On the day after her flight, families waited outside a military intelligence building in Dhaka, desperately hoping for news of their missing relatives, though only a few have been confirmed as released.
