Govt. to provide all support to disappearance enquiry commission

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today promised the Commission of Enquiry on Enforced Disappearances to provide all possible support to them to identify the people responsible for enforced disappearance between 2009 and 2024 and hold them accountable.

“We will facilitate anything that you need and provide all kinds of support,” the Chief Adviser told the commission members during a meeting, attended by several advisers and key officials, at the State Guest House Jamuna here.

The commission members said they would give the government an interim report by mid-December before working further on the matter.

Law adviser Asif Nazrul said the government would extend the tenure of the commission if required and issue an order creating legal provision to protect the victims.

Commission chairman Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury told the meeting that they received some 1,600 complaints as of October 31, scrutinised 400 complaints, and interviewed 140 complainants.

"We are overwhelmed by the number of complaints. Many people are still not coming to the commission, fearing retaliation from members of law enforcement agencies. From this, we can understand that the number of incidents is much higher than what has been reported so far,” said a commission member.

The commission member said they assumed that the number of enforced disappearances would be at least 3,500. They are working on identifying the perpetrators and instigators of the crimes, he said. 

The commission member said many of the victims are in jail, some are facing death sentences, as they were forced to give confessional statements before the court after they were shown arrested.

Some disappearance victims are believed to languish in jails in neighbouring India, he added.

Commission members sought the government's support for protecting the evidence in secret places where victims were kept confined. 

“Many victims told us that they did not see the sun for years. They could sense that it was a new day only when breakfast was served,” said a commission member.

The member requested the government impose an injunction on foreign trips of the accused individuals and, if possible, cancel their passports.

Home adviser Lt Gen. (retired) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, who also attended the meeting, said they would take steps in this regard immediately after the commission would provide them with the list of the accused persons.

Mahfuj Alam, special assistance to the Chief Adviser, emphasised on putting the findings of the commission in the public domain and exposing the individuals who had supervised the incidents of enforced disappearances.

Advisers Salehuddin Ahmed, Nurjahan Begum, Adilur Rahman Khan, M Sakhawat Hussain, Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud, special assistant to the Chief Adviser, Lt Gen. (retired) Abdul Hafiz, cabinet secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid, and principal secretary to the Chief Adviser, Md Siraj Uddin Mia, were present, among others, in the meeting.