Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus has called for the enforced disappearance report to be published both as a website and a book.
“There is considerable interest surrounding this—not just in Bangladesh but globally,” he said.
He made the remarks on Wednesday, after the second interim report of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances was submitted to him.
“What horrifying incidents!” he said. “The so-called ‘gentlemen’ of our society, our own relatives and acquaintances, have been responsible for these acts. Based on what you have uncovered, a horror museum should be established. These are chilling stories. The depiction of detention cells where victims were confined for days and even months inside cramped three-foot by three-foot cells must be brought to light—the cruelty and inhumanity must be shown to the public.”
The report was submitted at 11am at the state guest house Jamuna by commission chair Justice Moinul Islam Chowdhury along with members Nur Khan, Sajjad Hossain, and Nabila Idris.
Also present at the time were Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan, National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman, and the Chief Adviser’s Principal Secretary M Siraz Uddin Miah.
The chief adviser instructed the commission members to identify urgent follow-up actions from the report and clearly outline which ministry each item falls under, so that the government can begin implementing them without delay.
One commission member told the chief adviser: “The incidents are so horrific that several of the officials involved have expressed remorse. Some of them reached out to us as an act of repentance. Two officers even submitted written pleas for release from their involvement. These letters were recovered from Ganabhaban. The former army chief publicly acknowledged the existence of those letters.”
According to the commission, they have so far received 1,850 complaints and completed verification of 1,350 of them.
They further said the number of total complaints may exceed 3,500. Over 300 individuals subjected to enforced disappearance still remain missing, they added.
The commission chair requested the chief adviser to initiate steps to ensure that families of the disappeared can at least conduct banking transactions.
Under existing law, an individual is presumed dead after seven years of disappearance. The commission recommended amending the law to reduce the period to five years.
The chief adviser advised the commission to recommend immediate steps to address this issue without delay.
Thanking the commission members, the chief adviser said: “You are continuing your work in the face of fear, threats, and intimidation. You are a source of inspiration for the people of this country. For those who will work for human rights in the future, you are the role models.