Enforced disappearance cases up

“As many as 60 cases of abductions took place from January to July this year”

Following the USD 81-million cyber heist in Bangladesh Bank (BB) in February this year, Tanvir Hassan Zoha, a Bangladeshi cyber security expert, raised questions about the role of the central bank. He told the media that it was not possible for anyone to clean out such a huge amount of money without help from any BB official. Zoha was abducted by unidentified men from Kachukhet area in the capital within a few days of his interaction with the media. A week later, he was found roaming aimlessly in Dhaka airport area. He never said what had really happened to him. Even after several attempts, The Independent could not speak to Zoha. Zoha is one of the few fortunate ones who returned home after being victims of secret detention. These people kept mum about their whereabouts during the periods of disappearance and refrained from interacting with the media after they returned home.
Incidents of enforced disappearances are on the rise in the country, even though human rights groups and various sections of society have expressed outrage at such incidents time and again. Rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra, which keeps record of the number of incidents of enforced disappearances, said as many as 60 cases of abductions took place from January to July this year.
Of these cases, the persons who were abducted returned home only three times. The dead bodies of seven ‘missing’ persons were found later. In 18 cases, the RAB said they had made arrests. There is no trace of the remaining 32 persons as of now.
Last year, during the same period of January–July, a total of 36 persons were victims of enforced disappearances.
Only two were traced after the abduction and dead bodies of six missing persons were found. No trace of the rest could be found yet.
Jalaluddin Ahmed, additional inspector general (media) of police, told The Independent that allegations that plainclothes police were involved in the cases of enforced disappearances were not true.
“Police never abduct anybody.
The police arrest a person only after maintaining a proper judicial procedure,” he said. He also said a person might go missing for various reasons. “We take general diaries if members of the family of any missing person want to file it. It is, however, not possible for us to take up cases unless there is any evidence.”
He added: “In the case of any unnatural death of a missing person, police file cases under criminal laws. In these

cases, investigators regularly submit progress reports to the metropolitan magistrate’s court in Dhaka.”
Talking to The Independent, eminent lawyer Dr Shahdin Malik said the main difference between abduction and enforced disappearance was that the former was categorised under judicial procedure as a crime, while the latter is not.
“Abduction is done by a criminal; hence, it is a crime. Enforced disappearance is usually carried out by plainclothes law enforcement personnel and, hence, it is not categorised as a crime. However, it’s a violation of one’s constitutional rights.”
He said the main problem in Bangladesh was that no criminal law has recognised enforced disappearance as an offence yet, even though it prevails on a wide scale. “You cannot legally do anything in case of enforced disappearances. If the dead body is found, you can proceed with a criminal offence.”
The International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance, adopted by the United Nation in 2006, ensures that perpetrators of enforced disappearances—no matter whether it is a state authority or not—can be tried. Around 50 countries have been signatories to that convention.
“In countries like the Philippines, which has been a signatory, the law has recognised enforced disappearance as an offence. Bangladesh is yet to be a signatory to that convention,” Malik said.

Enforced disappearance cases up

“As many as 60 cases of abductions took place from January to July this year”

Following the USD 81-million cyber heist in Bangladesh Bank (BB) in February this year, Tanvir Hassan Zoha, a Bangladeshi cyber security expert, raised questions about the role of the central bank. He told the media that it was not possible for anyone to clean out such a huge amount of money without help from any BB official. Zoha was abducted by unidentified men from Kachukhet area in the capital within a few days of his interaction with the media. A week later, he was found roaming aimlessly in Dhaka airport area. He never said what had really happened to him. Even after several attempts, The Independent could not speak to Zoha. Zoha is one of the few fortunate ones who returned home after being victims of secret detention. These people kept mum about their whereabouts during the periods of disappearance and refrained from interacting with the media after they returned home. Incidents of enforced disappearances are on the rise in the country, even though human rights groups and various sections of society have expressed outrage at such incidents time and again. Rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra, which keeps record of the number of incidents of enforced disappearances, said as many as 60 cases of abductions took place from January to July this year. Of these cases, the persons who were abducted returned home only three times. The dead bodies of seven missing persons were found later. In 18 cases, the RAB said they had made arrests. There is no trace of the remaining 32 persons as of now. Last year, during the same period of JanuaryJuly, a total of 36 persons were victims of enforced disappearances. Only two were traced after the abduction and dead bodies of six missing persons were found. No trace of the rest could be found yet. Jalaluddin Ahmed, additional inspector general (media) of police, told The Independent that allegations that plainclothes police were involved in the cases of enforced disappearances were not true. Police never abduct anybody. The police arrest a person only after maintaining a proper judicial procedure, he said. He also said a person might go missing for various reasons. We take general diaries if members of the family of any missing person want to file it. It is, however, not possible for us to take up cases unless there is any evidence. He added: In the case of any unnatural death of a missing person, police file cases under criminal laws. In these cases, investigators regularly submit progress reports to the metropolitan magistrates court in Dhaka. Talking to The Independent, eminent lawyer Dr Shahdin Malik said the main difference between abduction and enforced disappearance was that the former was categorised under judicial procedure as a crime, while the latter is not. Abduction is done by a criminal; hence, it is a crime. Enforced disappearance is usually carried out by plainclothes law enforcement personnel and, hence, it is not categorised as a crime. However, its a violation of ones constitutional rights. He said the main problem in Bangladesh was that no criminal law has recognised enforced disappearance as an offence yet, even though it prevails on a wide scale. You cannot legally do anything in case of enforced disappearances. If the dead body is found, you can proceed with a criminal offence. The International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance, adopted by the United Nation in 2006, ensures that perpetrators of enforced disappearancesno matter whether it is a state authority or notcan be tried. Around 50 countries have been signatories to that convention. In countries like the Philippines, which has been a signatory, the law has recognised enforced disappearance as an offence. Bangladesh is yet to be a signatory to that convention, Malik said.