Justice for victims of enforced disappearance

Atiqul Kabir Tuhin | Published: August 31, 2024 20:05:40

The nation recoiled in horror when it learnt about the horrific, inhumane happenings that befell the victims of enforced disappearance during the Sheikh Hasina led Awami League government. Harrowing nightmarish stories are emerging from those who had been victims of enforced disappearance and have lived to tell the tale of a secret detention centre called Aynaghar (House of Mirrors) or House of Horrors might be more appropriate.
Some earlier victims had indicated that there were notorious secret detention facilities, but couldn't fully describe the horror they experienced because apparently they were warned against speaking about their Aynahhar experience, or risk being re-arrested and returned there. With the fall of Sheikh Hasina and her government, the Aynaghar survivors are now coming forward to share their chilling and harrowing experiences of the horrors they endured.
Victim Michael Chakma - an indigenous rights activist who had been kidnapped and made to forcibly disappear for over five years - was held captive in such a clandestine prison, gives a shocking account of his captivity. Describing his conditions, which are akin to being in a grave, Chakma recounts the psychological and physical torture he endured in dark, confined spaces with little contact with the outside world and not knowing if his next breath was going to be his last.
His story is a frightfully chilling reminder of man's inhumanity to man, and the systemic abuse that characterised the previous government's approach to suppress dissent and opposition at all cost. The government totally denied the allegations at the time, of course, and claimed the victims were hiding to embarrass the government. A more outrageous violation of human rights is incomprehensible when the government and law enforcing agencies become the worst lawbreakers, disrespect human life and trample upon human dignity. How could we have descended to such depravity?
Mayer Daak (Mothers' Call), a group of the families of the victims of enforced disappearance, estimates that at least 750 people were forcibly made to disappear during AL regime. Of them, three victims were released following Sheikh Hasina government's fall, but the fate of the vast majority still remains a mystery. The three victims who were unceremoniously released back into society know nothing about where they were held, or who their captors were.
Against this gruesome backdrop that has appalled the nation, the interim government was quick to form a five-member Inquiry Commission to dig deep and investigate enforced disappearances by various intelligence and law enforcement agencies. In another significant development Bangladesh became a signatory to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance on August 29.
It is incumbent upon the interim government to take decisive action to prosecute those involved in the enforced disappearances with the full force of the law. The perpetrators, including state officials who recommended, ordered, or facilitated these scandalous acts, must be brought to justice and made to pay for their acts against humanity. A special tribunal should be established to handle these cases, ensuring that the victims and their families receive the justice they deserve. Additionally, all secret detention centres operated by law enforcement agencies should be exposed, opened for public scrutiny, and like the renowned concentration camp in Auschwitz, Poland, be open to tourists to peer at and learn from one of the darkest periods in the history of Bangladesh.
The excruciating pain experienced by families of the victims must not be prolonged. They deserve to know the truth in every detail, however horrific it may be. They have every right to learn what happened to their loved ones, what state forces were involved in these heinous crimes, and who orchestrated these acts of kidnap, torture, and killing. A transparent, comprehensive investigation with justice will at least provide some answers and some comfort, even if it can never erase the tears, sleepless nights, and pain they have endured.
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