Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed on Thursday forwarded a list of 64 victims of enforced disappearances to the newly established five-member commission, directing it to take necessary action.
This action came two weeks after the submission of a memorandum to the CJ on August 28 by Md Belal Hossain, chief coordinator for the victims of enforced disappearances.
Belal, in the memorandum, gave a list of 64聽 victims of enforced disappearances that detailed the victims鈥� names, addresses, and photographs.
The memorandum stressed several demands, including initiating trials for those involved in enforced disappearances under the International Crimes Tribunal, ensuring compensation for victims鈥� families, providing free legal aid, and issuing certificates to facilitate the transfer or sale of the victims鈥� properties.
On August 27, the interim government formed a commission of inquiry to investigate the incidents of enforced disappearances allegedly carried out by law enforcement agencies during the Awami League government鈥檚 15 years of rule.
The commission is chaired by retired High Court judge Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury. The other members of the commission are former additional High Court judge M Farid Ahmed Shibli, human rights activists Nur Khan and Sazzad Hossain, and BRAC University professor Nabila Idris.
The commission on Thursday issued a public notice inviting victims, families, relatives, or witnesses of enforced disappearances to submit complaints either in person, via email, or through the hotline. Complaints can be filed between 10:00am and 4:00pm on working days from September 15 to September 30.
Each complainant must provide detailed information, including the date, time, and location of the disappearance, as well as the names, addresses, and contact details of the victims and their families. The complainant鈥檚 relationship with the victim must also be specified.
Additionally, complainants are required to name the individuals or agencies suspected to be involved, along with their addresses.
The commission鈥檚 office is located at 96, Gulshan Avenue, Dhaka.
Complaints can be submitted via email at [email protected] or through the hotline numbers 01701662120, 02鈥�58812121, according to the public notice issued by Bulbul Hossain, an additional district judge attached to the commission.
The commission is tasked with submitting its report within 45 working days.
The commission鈥檚 mandate includes identifying individuals subjected to enforced disappearances by law enforcement agencies between January 1, 2010 and August 5, 2024, the day when Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled to India amid a student-led mass uprising.
Earlier, on August 21, the chief adviser鈥檚 press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, announced at a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy that the government would establish the commission, citing that approximately 700 people had been forcibly disappeared during Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 tenure, with around 150 still missing.
In a statement in May 2023, rights group Odhikar said that they had documented 21 cases of enforced disappearances in 2022 and eight more in the first three months of 2023.
Earlier, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances repeatedly urged the Bangladesh government to provide information and respond to general allegations sent after its 125th session in September 2021.
WGEID also called for independent and impartial investigations into allegations of enforced disappearances by the RAB.
In a written statement to the WGEID鈥檚 128th session in September 2022, the Asian Human Rights Commission reported at least 623 cases of disappearances in Bangladesh between January 2009 and June 2022.
