Staff Reporter :
The Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances submitted its second interim report to Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday, detailing harrowing cases of state-linked abductions and urging urgent government and societal action.
The report was formally presented at the State Guest House Jamuna at approximately 11:00 a.m. by the commission’s Chairperson, Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury. Commission members Nur Khan Liton, Sazzad Hossain, and BRAC University academic Nabila Idris were also in attendance. The event was witnessed by Housing and Public Works Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan, National Security Adviser DrKhalilur Rahman, and Principal Secretary to the Chief Adviser, M Siraj Uddin Miah.
In his remarks, Chief Adviser Prof Yunus delivered a heartfelt and grave response to the findings, highlighting the moral weight of the issue.
“Every incident described is horrifying. These acts were committed not by strangers, but by people we know-members of our own society,” he said. “There should be a museum of horrors to reflect what has come to light.”
He stressed the need for full transparency, calling for the report to be published both in book form and online to raise domestic and international awareness.
“This is not only an issue of national concern – the world is watching,” Prof Yunus added.
The report outlines severe physical and psychological abuse suffered by victims, including prolonged periods of detention in secret facilities, with some detainees confined in spaces as small as three feet by three feet.
Prof Yunus directed the commission to propose immediate, actionable recommendations, enabling the government to begin addressing the issue without delay.
In a striking disclosure, a commission member revealed that some law enforcement officers implicated in the disappearances had approached the commission, expressing remorse and a desire to atone. Two such individuals reportedly left letters at Ganabhaban – the official residence of the former Prime Minister – which were later acknowledged by the former Chief of Army Staff.
Since its establishment, the commission has received 1,850 complaints, of which 1,350 have been reviewed. The total number of cases is expected to exceed 3,500, with over 300 individuals still unaccounted for.
Justice Chowdhury urged the Chief Adviser to support families of the missing by facilitating banking access, noting that under existing legislation, a person must be missing for seven years to be declared legally deceased. The commission has recommended amending this period to five years to alleviate the legal and financial hardship experienced by affected families.
Concluding the session, Prof Yunus commended the courage and perseverance of the commission members.
Bangladesh interim government chief adviser’s press secretary Shafiqul Alam on Wednesday said the intelligence wing of Rapid Action Battalion had worked as a killing force in the incidents of enforced disappearances.
He made the remark at a press briefing held at Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka, revealing the findings of a report on enforced disappearances submitted to chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on the day.
Alam said the report depicts how people were made disappeared and how many of them were killed during the reign of ousted Sheikh Hasina government.
