Imagine being picked up by a group of law enforcement officials in plain clothing and getting thrown in the back of a van. Before you realize what is happening, someone ties a blindfold around your eyes and throws a mask over your head. One can expect that they will be taken to the police station, right? For many unfortunate individuals, instead of the police station or jail, they end up in illegal detainment facilities commonly referred to in Bangladesh as “Aynaghor” (“House of Mirrors” in English), without the slightest idea of their whereabouts.

As per Article 33 Constitution of Bangladesh, every arrested person unequivocally has the right to be informed of the reason for arrest, right to legal counsel, right to appear before a judicial official within 24 hours of arrest, and right to not be detained without the authorization of a judicial official.

From 2009-2024, according to data provided by the human rights organization Odhikar, 709 people have been victims of enforced disappearance by various state law enforcement and security agencies in Bangladesh. Among the 709 people illegally abducted, 155 remain missing despite the fall of the Awami League’s totalitarian regime on August 5, 2024.

Odhikar further states that while nearly 66% of the victims were returned alive after periods of being illegally detained in undisclosed locations without any adherence to national or international law regarding detainment of prisoners, the abandoned dead bodies of 12% of those victims were recovered later. Following the fall of the government, 3 prominent individuals, the news of whose disappearances were widely circulated locally and internationally, were abruptly released.

Among them, Brigadier General (suspended) Abdullahil Amaan Azmi and Ahmad Bin Kashem Arman, both sons of prominent anti-Awami League politicians, were abducted on 9 August 2016 and 23 August 2016 respectively. Both were released on 6 August 2024 after being illegally detained for 8 years.

Micheal Chakma, on the other hand, an indigenous rights activist and a vocal critic of the Awami League government’s policy that resulted in the military crackdown in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, was abducted in April 2019. He was later released on August 7, 2024, after 5 years of being illegally detained. Similar to the other two high-profile detainees, he was kept in a solitary cell with no windows or access to sunlight, and he recalls hearing the deafening roar of two exhaust fans. According to him, “you lose the sense of time and day.” He further added, “I used to hear the cries of other prisoners, though I could not see them, their howling was terrifying. They would tie me to a chair and rotate it very fast. Often, they threatened to electrocute me. They asked, ‘why I was criticizing Sheikh Hasina?’”

Following the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s 16-year reign of terror, an Interim Government (IG) was formed under the stewardship of the Nobel Peace Prize Winner Professor Mohammad Yunus. The new Bangladeshi IG signed the instrument of accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances on 29 August, 2024. Subsequently, the IG announced a 5 member commission of inquiry that would investigate reports of enforced disappearances between January 2010 and August 2024. To date, 400+ victims have come forward and filed their complaints with the commission.

On October 2024, the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) was reconstituted to prosecute the persons involved in the commission of crimes against humanity. The ICT will try these cases under power vested in it by Section 3 (2)(a) and Section 3(2)(f) of the International Crimes Tribunal Act, 1973 (ICT Act). Additionally, Section 3 (1) of the ICT Act was amended recently to allow for the prosecution of members of military, law enforcement, and security agencies. The ICT Investigation Agency established under Section 8(1) of the Act has also been  reconstituted recently.

While there is enthusiasm among the victims, their families, and the public regarding the commencement of trial of perpetrators of these vicious crimes, there is also an underlying expectation for the judicial process to remain transparent and accountable so the justice delivered can be untainted and exemplary, ascertaining that the principles of natural justice are upheld.