The human rights organisation Odhikar on Tuesday demanded diplomatic negotiations between the Bangladesh government and Indian authorities to investigate whether additional victims of enforced disappearance remained in India as some of previously disappeared individuals were later found there.
The rights body made the demand on the occasion of the International Week in Support of Victims of Enforced Disappearance, to honour victims and demand justice for those responsible, said a press release.
Every year countries around the world in the last week of May observe the International Week in Support of Victims of Enforced Disappearance to strengthen the campaign against enforced disappearance.
Odhikar also demanded legal provisions allowing the spouses and children of disappeared individuals to manage their bank accounts and sell or utilise their immovable and movable assets and property.
鈥業n May 2025, this week is being observed in Bangladesh at a crucial time when the country is going through a political transition after a student-led mass uprising that deposed 15 and a half years of authoritarian rule on August 5, 2024,鈥� the press release said.
Odhikar in its release said that the authoritarian regime instrumentalised enforced disappearance as a tool of state repression during its tenure.
It established secret detention cells, which were reportedly used to forcibly disappear and persecute individuals who opposed the former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League, as well as those who actively protested against India鈥檚 interference, the press release added.
Odhikar also demanded withdrawal of false charges filed against individuals who reappeared after being disappeared, and holding all individuals responsible for enforced disappearances accountable through legal proceedings and ensuring their prosecution before the International Crimes Tribunal.
