Victims faced 'systematic denial of justice' under Hasina regime

Under deposed ruler Sheikh Hasina's regime, victims of enforced disappearances were meted out denial of justice and deprivation of essential rights, says the probe commission in partial revelation of its findings.
Part of the report of the commission on enforced disappearances, formed after the August-5th changeover following a mass uprising, was released Monday with macabre findings.
"Law-enforcement agencies frequently refused to register complaints or initiate proper investigations, often justifying their inaction with claims of 'orders from above'. Instead, they dismissed the disappearances with baseless assertions, such as victims having gone into hiding to evade creditors or other personal matters," the probe body reports.

"For those who returned alive, the ordeal continued unabated. Victims often endured ongoing threats, silencing them from sharing their experiences or seeking accountability," it says, adding that their fear was intensified by the absence of due process, lack of judicial safeguards, and the systemic impunity granted to the perpetrators.
The commission recommends that cumulative psychological, social, and financial toll on the victims highlights the urgent need for restorative justice, systemic reforms, and comprehensive support to them.
The report says this practice of forcibly disappearing children alongside their mothers had been longstanding and widespread, with reports spanning from 2015 to as recently as 2023, involving the metropolitan police in Chittagong to CTTC officers in Dhaka.
According to the report, since a large number of the hitherto missing victims of enforced disappearances were primary breadwinners for their families, these families have been living in dire conditions due to economic crises.
"The economic hardship has had a detrimental impact on the mental, social, and physical wellbeing of the families of the disappeared, as well as their ability to search for their loved ones. It has also hindered the fulfilment of other basic human rights, such as the rights to education, health, and shelter. The legal challenges related to inheritance add another layer of complexity."
The report mentions that during Sheikh Hasina's reign, a "culture of impunity" became entrenched within the security forces.
"It was evident in our conversations with the officers of both civil and military forces that not only did most of them never expect to be ever held accountable for their crimes, they also did not necessarily view the crimes as crimes."
And enforced disappearances of people accused of being terrorists, for instance, were regularly brushed aside as insignificant and not worthy of the Commission's attention. "Similarly, custodial torture was nonchalantly described as a routine matter, indispensable to crime fighting."
This culture has undoubtedly had a significant impact on the nation, particularly on the victims of enforced disappearances and related crimes, the commission notes in its report.
"However, it is important not to overlook the damage it has caused to the members of the security forces themselves," the report reads.
Across various security forces, evidence of crimes spanning over 15 years has been "systematically manipulated". It was done not only by those in power till 5 August 2024--some of whom likely sought to cover up their own crimes--but also by those who assumed leadership afterwards, according to the report.
"It reveals the pervasive and coercive nature of the culture of impunity, which compels even those not originally directly involved in the commission of offences to protect and perpetuate it."
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