Many officials involved in enforced disappearances during the deposed Awami League (AL) government still remain at the heart of state power, the commission on enforced disappearances has said, reports bdnews24.com.
The panel also found evidence that these officials are intimidating both victims and witnesses.
Commenting that the names of these officials will not be disclosed at this stage at a briefing on Thursday in the capital's Gulshan, the commission's Chairman retired justice Moinul Islam Chowdhury said: "Revealing their names could put the victims' lives at risk."
Presenting a written statement at the briefing, he said the commission had submitted its second interim report to Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus on June 4.
"In the report, we outlined how, under the previous authoritarian government, enforced disappearance was used systematically as a tool of repression against opposition political forces and dissenters in Bangladesh. Even after the changeover in power on August 5 last year, many perpetrators and their allies have remained in positions of power, leading to the destruction of key evidence, institutional non-cooperation, intimidation of witnesses, and the creation of a climate of fear and terror."
Asked about the identities of the officials involved, he said: "We are not disclosing the names of those we've identified - primarily for the safety and security of the victims. Those involved in the enforced disappearances are still threatening victims. We even possess an audio recording of one such threat made to a victim."
"We do not want to jeopardise the lives of the victims and their families. Ensuring the safety of victims and witnesses has been entrusted to the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT). That is now their responsibility, as we don't have any enforcement mechanism."
The issues of enforced disappearances and the so-called Ayna Ghor, or ‘house of mirrors’ detention centres resurfaced prominently in public discourse following the ALgovernment's fall in the face of a massive student-led mass movement.
Referring to steps the commission is taking to locate the disappeared individuals, the chairman clarified: "There are two aspects under the Code of Criminal Procedure - inquiry and investigation. We are conducting an inquiry, not an investigation. The responsibility for investigation lies with the ICT and police. Searching is a part of investigation, not inquiry. Keep in mind that a search involves a much deeper level of investigation."
Commission member Sajjad Hossain explained further, "It doesn't mean that we're doing no search work at all. The commission is engaged in four types of search efforts, such as:
o It has referred 131 cases to police, instructing them to investigate and locate the individuals.
