The Commission of Inquiry on Disappearances submitted its final report to Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus on Sunday.
The Commission submitted its report at the State Guest House Jamuna on Sunday (January 4, 2025) afternoon. Commission President Justice Mainul Islam Chowdhury, members Justice Md. Farid Ahmed Shibli, Nur Khan Liton, Nabila Idris and Sajjad Hossain were present at the time. Advisor Adilur Rahman Khan and Principal Secretary to the Chief Advisor Sirajuddin Mia were also present.
The Commission said that a total of 1,913 complaints were submitted to the Disappearances Investigation Commission. Of these, 1,569 complaints were considered as disappearances according to the definition after verification. Of these, 287 complaints fell into the ‘missing and dead’ category.
Stating that many people are still coming forward with complaints, Commission member Nabila Idris said, ‘The number of disappearances could be four to six thousand. Contacting many of the victims of disappearances leads to finding more victims through them who have not contacted us, do not know about us or have moved to other countries. There are many people whom we contacted ourselves but they did not agree to talk on the record.’
The commission members said that the enforced disappearances were mainly politically motivated. They said that the data we received proved that it was a politically motivated crime.
The commission said in its report that 75 percent of the victims of disappearances who returned alive were leaders and activists of Jamaat-Shibir, 22 percent were leaders and activists of BNP and its affiliated organizations. Of those who are still missing, 68 percent were leaders and activists of BNP and its affiliated organizations and 22 percent were leaders and activists of Jamaat-Shibir.
Evidence has been found that the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Hasina’s Defense Advisor Major General (retd) Tariq Ahmed Siddique, and the then Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan were directly involved in the high-profile disappearances. Notable among these cases are BNP leaders Ilyas Ali, Hummam Quader Chowdhury, Salahuddin Ahmed, Chowdhury Alam, Jamaat leader former Brigadier General Abdullahil Aman Azmi, Barrister Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem, former Ambassador Maruf Zaman.
The commission members said that the former Prime Minister himself was the direct orderer in many cases of disappearances. Moreover, the information obtained on the rendition (secret transfer without legal process) of the disappeared victims to India makes it clear that these were done on the orders of the highest level of the government.
Chief Advisor Professor Yunus thanked the members of the Disappearance Investigation Commission for their tireless work and strong morale. He said, “This is a historic work. On behalf of the nation, I thank all of this commission. The incident you described, the word paishachik in Bengali, in a word, these incidents can be described with that word. You have seen those atrocities through talking to those who have gone through them, through their experiences. This work could not have been completed without strong morale.’
The Chief Advisor said, ‘This report is a documentation of the kind of demonic behavior that can be perpetrated on people by twisting all the institutions of Bangladesh and wearing the garb of democracy. This is its documentation of how low people can stoop, how demonic they can be, how disgusting they can be. Those who committed these terrible incidents are human beings like us. They are living a normal life in society after committing the most atrocious incidents. As a nation, we have to come out of such atrocities forever. We have to find a way to remedy this atrocity so that it does not return.’
The Chief Advisor called for the reports to be made available to the people in simple language. In addition, the Chief Advisor also directed the Commission to submit necessary recommendations and future actions.
In addition, the Chief Advisor has instructed to map the places where extrajudicial killings and disappearances have occurred, in addition to the mirror house. The commission said that according to the investigation, the highest number of killings and disappearances have occurred in the Baleshwar River in Barisal. Hundreds of disappeared victims have been killed and thrown into this river. In addition, evidence of disappearances of bodies has been found in the Buriganga River and Munshiganj.
The members of the Disappearance Investigation Commission specially thanked the Chief Advisor. Stating that this work would not have been completed without the strong position of the Chief Advisor, they said, ‘We were able to do it because you were strong. You always gave us whatever support we needed. You strengthened our morale.’
They called on the Chief Advisor to reconstitute the National Human Rights Commission and take forward these works and requested the government to take action to ensure the protection of victims.
