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Enforced disappearance commission: 400 complaints filed in 13 days

The Commission of Enquiry on Enforced Disappearances received 400 complaints in the first 13 days since it began working on September 15.
The 400 incidents of enforced disappearances took place during the Awami League regime.
The commission has identified a detention centre at the headquarters of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI). The centre, known as “Aynaghar”, is a joint interrogation cell housed in a two-story building.
Commission Chairman Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, a retired High Court judge, shared this information at a press conference at its office in the capital’s Gulshan yesterday.
“We are investigating the cases of those who were disappeared by the state forces or the law enforcement agencies. We will summon the accused. If they fail to appear before us, we will take legal action.
“Most of the allegations of enforced disappearance have been brought against the Rab, DGFI, the Detective Branch of police, and the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit.
“On September 25, we visited the ‘Aynaghar’ at the DGFI headquarters. We also went to the DB and CTTC unit offices on October 1. However, we did not find any detainees. It seems that all the detainees have been released after August 5,” Justice Moyeenul said.
The commission initially set September 30 as the deadline for filing complaints, but its chief said that the deadline was pushed back to October 10.
He said that 75 individuals have so far given statements in person, and many others have filed complaints by post or email.
The deadline for lodging complaints could be extended further, if necessary, he added.
“We will assess later if the investigations can be completed within three months.”
Asked about a few recent detentions, Justice Moyeenul said that they were only investigating the incidents that occurred between January 1, 2010, and August 5, 2024.
Nur Khan, a member of the commission, said, “We want to hear each complaint. We want to understand what happened and how people were detained in violation of the law.”
Another commission member, Nabila Idris, said that many of the 400 complaints are about incidents which have come to light for the first time.
She noted that many victims of enforced disappearance neither spoke about those incidents nor filed general diaries (GDs) with police stations before.
“We want to work with focus. We are receiving many complaints from outside Dhaka as well. Those who cannot come in person can send their complaints via post or email. Those will be of equal importance to us. We will call them to listen to their stories.”
Sazzad Hossain, another member of the commission, said, “During our visit to the ‘Aynaghar’, we found that the centre corresponded to the victims’ description. However, some changes have been made to it. Much crucial evidence, particularly the writings on the walls, have been destroyed. We have verbally asked them not to make any more changes to the ‘Aynaghar’ until our investigation is complete. We have also sent a notice to them in this regard.”
The interim government formed the five-member commission on August 27 to investigate enforced disappearances allegedly carried out by different intelligence and law enforcement agencies during the AL regime.
For over a decade, hundreds of families have lived with the unbearable pain of not knowing the fate of their loved ones. These individuals, mostly critics of the AL government and members of opposition parties, disappeared during the party’s 16-year rule.
In its 2021 report, Human Rights Watch said that security forces have committed over 600 enforced disappearances since Sheikh Hasina took office in 2009.
According to rights organisation Odhikar, at least 709 people became victims of enforced disappearance between 2009 and 2024. Of them, 155 still remain missing.

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