The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, along with high-ranking military and police officials, of overseeing enforced disappearances. According to the HRW, Hasina, along with Major General (Retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique, Major General Ziaul Ahsan, and senior police officers, played a role in overseeing these disappearances.
The US-based human rights organization made these claims in its recently released 50-page report titled “After the Monsoon Revolution: A Roadmap to Lasting Security Sector Reform in Bangladesh.” The report cites findings from a national commission investigating enforced disappearances, which released its first report on December 14. The commission estimated that over 3,500 enforced disappearances had occurred under Hasina’s government.
HRW stated that security officers involved in these disappearances admitted that Hasina and senior members of her government were aware of incommunicado detentions. The report further claimed that shortly after Hasina fled the country, three men were released from secret detention centers. In all three cases, authorities had denied their custody for years.
Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem, a lawyer and former detainee, described the secret detention facility as being “meticulously designed to give the detainees a worse-than-death experience.” The national inquiry commission’s findings also indicated that torture in these facilities was not only systematic but institutionalized.
HRW recommended that the Bangladeshi government act on the national commission’s advice to disband the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), a counterterrorism unit composed of seconded police and military personnel. The unit has been accused of numerous extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances.
In response to the report, RAB chief AKM Shahidur Rahman acknowledged the existence of the unit’s secret detention centers and stated that RAB would comply if the interim government decided to disband it.
HRW highlighted Bangladesh’s history of politically influenced law enforcement and urged the interim government to establish independent civilian oversight over security forces. It suggested that the National Human Rights Commission should have the authority to conduct unannounced inspections of detention centers. Additionally, HRW called for strict enforcement of international standards on the use of force, ensuring accountability for any security personnel found violating these standards.
