Bangladesh inquiry alleges Sheikh Hasina behind 3,500 enforced disappearances

An inquiry commission set up by the interim government of Bangladesh has made serious allegations against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, linking her to enforced disappearances in the country. According to the report titled "Revealing the Truth," more than 3,500 people have gone missing under her regime.

The five-member commission, chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Mainul Islam Chowdhury, submitted its interim findings to Acting Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus. The report accuses Sheikh Hasina, along with high-ranking military and police officials, of orchestrating a systematic campaign of enforced disappearances.

Among those implicated are Hasina's defence adviser, retired Major General Tariq Ahmed Siddiqui, and former senior police officers Monirul Islam and Mohammad Harun-or-Rashid. The commission also identified the involvement of the police’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), which it claims was responsible for capturing, torturing, and detaining victims.

The inquiry revealed the existence of eight secret detention centres in and around Dhaka where detainees were allegedly held in inhumane conditions. Commission member Sajjad Hussain reported that 1,676 complaints of enforced disappearances have been registered, with investigations completed in 758 cases. Out of these, 200 victims were confirmed dead, while others were officially recorded as arrested upon their return.

The report called for the abolition of the Anti-Terrorism Act 2009, which it claims facilitated these violations, and proposed either abolishing or extensively reforming the RAB. Chowdhury described the disappearances as part of a "systematic design" that ignored victims' rights and human dignity.

Meanwhile, several former military and police officers implicated in these crimes are reportedly on the run, with some believed to have fled abroad following the fall of Hasina’s Awami League government. The findings have sparked widespread concerns over human rights abuses and the need for systemic reform in Bangladesh’s governance and law enforcement structures.