Human Rights Watch (HRW) has uncovered evidence suggesting that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directly ordered the disappearances and killings of political opponents during her tenure. In its report, After the Monsoon Revolution—A Roadmap to Lasting Security Sector Reform in Bangladesh, HRW claims Hasina even recommended the execution of Brigadier General (retd.) Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, the son of Jamaat's former leader Professor Ghulam Azam, while he was held in a secret detention center. After Hasina resigned and fled to India, many detainees, including Azmi, were released.
The report, published Monday, calls for the dissolution of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), which HRW accuses of involvement in human rights violations. It also demands wide-ranging reforms to all security-related institutions, including the RAB and police, which HRW states were politicized under Hasina’s government. These forces were allegedly used to target opposition members, critics, journalists, and human rights activists through arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances.
HRW urged the interim government to reform both security forces and the judiciary, recommending they present a proposal to the UN Human Rights Council in March to ensure long-term reform. The report also criticizes the politicization of the police, army, and RAB, noting that political patronage, bribery, and rewards became central to the security forces’ operations under Hasina’s leadership, undermining public trust in law enforcement.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has highlighted numerous instances of torture, enforced disappearances, and killings under the Sheikh Hasina government. The organization documented the cases of other victims, including Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem (Armaan), and Michael Chakma, who were subjected to prolonged, unlawful detention and abuse. Despite official denial, these detainees were held in secret facilities, enduring solitary confinement, torture, and threats of execution. HRW’s findings also reveal that enforced disappearances were orchestrated under a “central command structure,” implicating Hasina and top officials in overseeing these operations.
A commission of inquiry, set up by Bangladesh's interim government, estimates over 3,500 enforced disappearances under Hasina's rule. The report confirmed that these actions were part of a broader strategy to suppress political opposition, with victims often held incommunicado before being murdered or discarded. Officers involved in these actions testified that orders came directly from the highest levels of government, including Hasina herself, who reportedly approved the killing of certain detainees.
In addition to enforced disappearances, HRW uncovered a pattern of extrajudicial killings, often euphemistically labeled as “crossfire” incidents, in which authorities falsely claimed victims were killed during armed exchanges. These killings, reportedly sanctioned by senior officials, were part of a broader campaign against political opposition and activists. The report calls for urgent reforms in Bangladesh's security forces and justice system, with a focus on ending impunity for these human rights abuses.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
