Staff Reporter :
Describing the trend of enforced disappearance as a hallmark of Awami League’s barbarism, BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman said that at least 666 people were subjected to enforced disappearance by law enforcement agencies during the AL’s rule from 2009 to March 2025.
“According to our calculation, the number is several times higher,” Tarique Rahman said in a statement on Monday, marking the International Week of the Disappeared, observed annually from the 26th to 31st May.
Most of them are still missing, many bodies have been found and some have been arrested, Tarique said, adding that it is an example of the barbaric misrule of the defeated Awami League.
The week serves as a global observance to honour victims of enforced disappearances, reflect on the history of this grave violation and advocate for a world free from such crimes.
It is a time for families of the disappeared, human rights organisations and other civil society groups to raise awareness for justice and accountability.
In the statement, he said the leaders and activists of his party became the worst victims of the enforced disappearance, apart from the people from business communities and intellectuals.
Criminals impersonating them as members of law enforcement agencies kidnapped many people, but their whereabouts are still unknown, alleged the BNP leader. According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), enforced disappearance is considered a crime against humanity when it’s part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilians.
The ICC can investigate and prosecute individuals responsible for such crimes, according to the Rome Statute. Underscoring the need to put an end to the culture of enforced disappearances, Tarique also expressed his grave sorrow over the incidents and extended sympathy to the victims’ family members.
He also urged the government to take stronger action to ensure that no one in the country ever falls victim to such incidents again. At the same time, the BNP stalwart called upon all to remain alert so that such an inhuman incident cannot take place in the country with the patronisation of the government ever again.
