The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances has said that victims of enforced disappearances in Bangladesh have faced four likely outcomes.
At a press conference on Thursday at the commission office in Gulshan, Dhaka, Justice (Retd) Moinul Islam Chowdhury, head of the commission, shared this information.
According to the commission chief, an analysis of the complaints submitted to the commission reveals four possible outcomes for the victims:
- The victim was killed.
- The victim was presented before the media as a “militant” and later shown as arrested in ongoing or newly filed criminal cases.
- The victim was sent across the border to India, where they were detained by Indian law enforcement agencies.
- In rare cases, if fortunate, the victim was released without any charges.
On June 4, the commission submitted its second interim report to Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus.
The commission chief said the report highlights how, during the previous authoritarian government, enforced disappearances were systematically used as a tool to suppress opposition political forces and dissenting voices.
He continued: "Even after the political shift on August 5, many perpetrators and their supporters remain in power, leading to the destruction of crucial evidence. Institutional non-cooperation and intimidation of witnesses have also created a climate of fear. Still, many victims have risked their lives to share their accounts, which have been covered in both national and international media.
"The existence of secret detention centres can no longer be denied. The chief adviser has visited some of these centres and heard firsthand accounts from victims, which were broadcast globally through the media."
'Irrefutable evidence in 253 cases'
The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances was formed on September 15 to investigate the whereabouts and identities of victims and the circumstances surrounding their disappearances.
The commission reported that it has inspected 16 secret detention facilities across the country and launched immediate operations upon receiving credible information.
Of the complaints reviewed, 131 have been formally recorded as FIRs or general diaries and sent to the inspector general of police for further action.
In its second interim report, the commission analyzed around 1,850 complaints and presented findings on 253 victims of enforced disappearance.
According to the commission, three key features were observed in these cases.
Contemporary evidence exists, including GDs, criminal cases, or news reports filed at the time of the disappearance. Only these 253 individuals were able to provide such evidence—others could not, often because authorities refused to accept GDs back then.
Upon return from disappearance, the victims were often shown arrested in anti-terrorism or other criminal cases, meaning a state agency admitted the person had been in its custody, according to the commission.
These victims were alive and able to report that they had been held in secret detention facilities, where many encountered one another and faced similar forms of abuse. Thus, all three phases—moment of abduction, period of disappearance, and reappearance—are backed by irrefutable evidence in these 253 cases, it added.
Commission chief Moinul said they have compiled a fact-based dossier on these 253 individuals, who came from various parts of the country and remained isolated for over a decade, yet reported remarkably similar experiences.
Such similarity cannot be a coincidence or the work of a few rogue officers—it points to an organized and systematic structure, he added.
He further said: "The findings clearly show that under the previous government, enforced disappearance was institutionalized as part of a counter-terrorism campaign that exploited the fear of Islamic extremism to centralize power, gain international legitimacy, and extend political rule. Victims included bright students, political activists, journalists, doctors, engineers, and professionals from both public and private sectors.
"The criminal justice system was weaponized. Law enforcement and security forces became politically influenced. Torture and secret detentions were institutionalized. Even ordinary citizens were repeatedly handed over illegally to Indian forces."
The commission said these 253 cases span more than a decade and include victims of diverse ages, professions, and timelines, yet their experiences follow strikingly similar patterns.
Most were affiliated with opposition parties or dissenting voices. In a few cases, intra-party rivalry within the ruling party also led to disappearances, it said.
In every case, victims faced systematic abuse, were labeled as terrorists, faced similar legal charges, and described events in nearly identical language.
This consistency in narratives from people of different backgrounds underscores the political motives behind the disappearances, it added.
As per the commission, this was not a case of a few careless law enforcement officers violating human rights during an anti-terror operation; rather, it was a politically driven repression tool that used counter-terrorism rhetoric as a cover.
The report also analyzes data from anti-terrorism tribunals and concludes that changes in the number of cases were influenced not by neutrality but by political considerations and performance indicators.
According to the commission, 81% of the complaints involve victims who are still alive; 19% concern victims who have not returned.
The current report includes progress on 12 unresolved cases for which initial investigations have been completed.
The commission has been able to identify the individuals responsible for these disappearances, but cannot disclose further details at this time due to the ongoing nature of the investigations.
Progress has also been made in many other unresolved cases, but until investigations are complete, further disclosure is not possible.
Challenges include lack of information about perpetrators and locations, and absence of old call records. Despite these obstacles, the Commission said it remains committed to continuing its investigation.
In this second interim report, the commission has made two key recommendations:
- To acknowledge the misuse of anti-terrorism cases and ensure their swift resolution based on the standards of justice.
- Following discussions with senior law enforcement officials, to replace Bangladesh’s current flawed counter-terrorism methods with more suitable ones like those used in Malaysia and Indonesia in order to shift public perception.
Commission chief Moinul said terrorism is a real global threat, and Bangladesh is not exempt—evidenced by the 2016 Holey Artisan attack.
"However, in confronting this threat, the state must remain committed to integrity, human rights, and lawful processes. When counter-terrorism is used as a tool to suppress political opposition, it erodes the rule of law, public institutions, and citizen trust," he added.