Shakila (pseudonym) was living a peaceful life with her family until she was detained by police in 2018, the year of the national parliamentary elections, over an alleged conspiracy against the government.
Following her detention, she was blindfolded and taken to an unknown location. Captors tied up her hands and hanged her, forcibly removing her veil. She was held in custody for 24 consecutive days, during which she was subjected to brutal torture.
She is now mentally unstable, with visible signs of torture still present on her body. The traumatic memories continue to haunt her. Shakila has recounted the details of those horrific days to the Commission on Enforced Disappearances.
During the ousted Awami League regime, numerous people across the country were subjected to enforced disappearances. Individuals from all walks of life, regardless of gender, fell victim to such brutality.
There were cases where both mother and daughter were abducted together, with the mother tortured in front of her daughter. In some instances, the daughter was later abandoned on the street, while the mother never returned.
Although Shakila was fortunate to return, countless others never made it back home. So far, the Commission on Enforced Disappearances has received 1,850 complaints.
The commission has found irrefutable evidence in 253 cases of disappearance so far. Survivors have shared harrowing accounts of abduction, detention, and torture.
“They took my veil away. Many men came to see me in that state for their amusement as I was facing to window,” Shakila recounted her memory, adding that they made fun of her veils and said “You wore a veil for so long, now they’re all gone.”
“Due to the torture, I became ill and my delayed period started. When I asked for sanitary pads, they laughed,” she continued.
A 56-year-old man recounted that, during torture, his fingernails were pulled out. Another victim, abducted by RAB-10, said he was handcuffed and forced to stand inside a metal grill to prevent him from sitting. One day, one person held his finger with pliers while another inserted a needle.
A 30-year-old man, abducted in 2014 by Rapid Action Battalion’s intelligence wing and RAB-12, said he was missing for 39 days. He said he was stripped and tortured with electric shocks, including to his genitals using clips, over trivial matters.
The victim said that at one point, he was taken into a moving vehicle and electrocuted continuously for 15 to 20 minutes. “The shocks were so intense that I lost all sensation in my legs, leading to an amputation.”
“I screamed for three minutes after the shocks stopped,” he said. “Then they covered my mouth.”
The commission’s report reveals that the TFI cell of RAB had a rotating chair used for torture. Victims were spun at high speeds, causing some to vomit, urinate, defecate, or lose consciousness.
In 2017, a 28-year-old man abducted by the DGFI and RAB-2 disappeared for 208 days. Recalling his ordeal, he said he was tied to a machine that rotated, sometimes upside down or laid flat. “It felt like all my bones were coming apart,” he said. While restrained, he was forced to kneel and was asked, “What are you conspiring against the government?”
A 27-year-old man abducted by RAB-10 in 2017 described being subjected to water torture. He was made to lie face-up while water was poured over his face with a towel, causing him to temporarily stop breathing. After removing the towel, his captors asked, “Tell us what you are doing?” When he remained silent, the torture was repeated.
Meanwhile, a 46-year-old man, who was missing for 391 days, told the commission that the cells for male detainees were small and cramped, with low built-in toilet pans. Victims often had to lie directly on the pans, forcing them to endure filthy conditions of dirt, urine, and feces. Moreover, all activity in these cells was monitored by CCTV cameras, subjecting the detainees to extreme humiliation, even during use of the toilet. Security guards also denied them proper rest, preventing adequate sleep.
A 47-year-old man abducted by the CTTC for 16 days in 2023 said his eyes were sometimes covered with a towel, other times with a rubber cap. His hands were tied either in front or behind. He described being beaten severely on his elbows and knees with a thick stick. “I thought my bones would break,” he said. Later, he noticed severe swelling and realized some bones were indeed broken.
A young man abducted by RAB-11 recounted, “They tied my legs and hung me up while I was naked. Two of them beat me at once, mostly with a cane stick. They tortured me repeatedly. During one beating, my blindfold slipped off, and I was slapped hard on the nose and face. Besides that, most blows were to my back, where my skin tore and bled.”
A 16-year-old boy abducted by RAB in 2019 was missing for 20 months and 13 days. Although he eventually returned alive, he is now mentally unstable. His father said, “The boy is an orphan; his mother has passed away. He was studying, but now everything is over. Since his return, he just sits quietly and suddenly becomes angry. If someone teases him, he slaps them. He now laughs alone, foams at the mouth, and struggles to speak properly, nothing like before. I took him to the doctor, who prescribed medication, but he refuses to eat. His body trembles and he falls asleep. He is given medicine indiscriminately.”
Translated by AM
