ISLAMABAD: Bangladesh&rsquo;s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina personally ordered the enforced disappearance of political opponents during her 15-year rule, a government commission has concluded, according to the country&rsquo;s state news agency.&nbsp;The findings were presented to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus at the State Guest House Jamuna by the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) reported.&nbsp;&ldquo;In many cases the former prime minister herself was the direct order-giver behind disappearances,&rdquo; commission members said during the presentation, according to BSS.&nbsp;The 287-page report, titled &ldquo;Unfolding the Truth: A Structural Diagnosis of Enforced Disappearance in Bangladesh,&rdquo; documents at least 1,569 verified cases of enforced disappearance. The commission estimates the true number may range between 4,000 and 6,000, BSS reported.&nbsp;The inquiry found that disappearances were &ldquo;mainly politically motivated crimes&rdquo; and operated through &ldquo;a coordinated institutional system&rdquo; involving state security forces.&nbsp;Senior officials, including Hasina&rsquo;s security adviser and the then home minister, were found to have been involved, according to the report.&nbsp;Opposition figures overwhelmingly targetedNearly all verified victims were affiliated with opposition political movements, the commission found.&nbsp;Among survivors who later returned, 75% were members of Jamaat-e-Islami or its student wing, while 22% belonged to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and allied groups, BSS reported.&nbsp;Among those still missing, 68% were BNP members and 22% were from Jamaat-e-Islami, according to the state news agency.&nbsp;Out of 1,913 complaints received, the commission verified 1,569 cases as meeting the definition of enforced disappearance. Of those, 287 people remain missing and are presumed dead, BSS reported.&nbsp;Commission member Dr. Nabila Idris said the documented cases likely represent only a fraction of the total.&nbsp;&ldquo;The number of enforced disappearances could be four to six thousand,&rdquo; Idris said, according to BSS. &ldquo;Contacting many of the victims of disappearances leads to the discovery of more victims who have not contacted us, do not know about us or have moved to other countries.&rdquo;&nbsp;She added that many potential victims declined to testify on the record.&nbsp;Senior officials named in high-profile casesThe report cited evidence implicating Hasina, her security and defense adviser Tarique Ahmed Siddique, and then-Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan in several high-profile disappearances, BSS reported.&nbsp;Cases highlighted include BNP leaders Ilias Ali, Salahuddin Ahmed, Hummam Quader Chowdhury and Chowdhury Alam, as well as Jamaat leader and former Brigadier General Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, Barrister Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem, and former ambassador Maroof Zaman.&nbsp;Former Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) chief Lt. Gen. Akbar Zaman testified that he directly discussed Hummam Quader Chowdhury&rsquo;s detention with Hasina, according to BSS.&nbsp;Former Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Director General Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun acknowledged knowledge of Mir Ahmad bin Quasem Arman&rsquo;s detention. He said he was informed by his predecessor, Benazir Ahmed, and later passed the information to his successor during a command handover, BSS reported.&nbsp;Secret detention sites and body disposalThe commission found that the Rapid Action Battalion and DGFI jointly operated a secret interrogation facility known as &ldquo;Aynaghar,&rdquo; or &ldquo;Mirror House,&rdquo; where many victims were detained, BSS reported.&nbsp;Claims by security officials that disappearances resulted from rogue officers acting independently were rejected.&nbsp;Senior officials who denied knowledge of detention facilities &ldquo;ought to have known&rdquo; about operations conducted under their authority, the commission concluded. Detention cells were often located near or on the same floors as senior officials&rsquo; offices, making ignorance implausible, according to BSS.&nbsp;The commission identified the Baleshwar River in Barisal as the site where the highest number of victims were allegedly killed and their bodies dumped. Evidence also pointed to body disposal in the Buriganga River and in Munshiganj, the report said.&nbsp;Alleged transfers to IndiaThe inquiry obtained information suggesting some disappeared victims were secretly transferred to India without legal process, carried out &ldquo;on orders from the highest levels of the government,&rdquo; commission members said, according to BSS.&nbsp;The report did not specify how many such cases occurred or whether Indian authorities were involved.&nbsp;Nearly 200 officers summonedDuring the investigation, the commission issued summonses to 98 police officers and 108 military officers, BSS reported.&nbsp;Responding to criticism that the inquiry unfairly targeted the armed forces, the report noted the near-equal number of police and military officials summoned.&nbsp;Yunus calls findings &lsquo;historic&rsquo;Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus thanked the commission and described its work as historic.&nbsp;&ldquo;This report is a documentation of the kind of demonic behavior that can be perpetrated on people by twisting all the institutions of Bangladesh and wearing the garb of democracy,&rdquo; Yunus said, according to BSS.&nbsp;&ldquo;It shows how low people can go down, how demonic and disgusting they can be,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;Those who committed these terrible incidents are human beings like us. They are living a normal life in society after committing the most atrocious incidents.&rdquo;&nbsp;Yunus directed the commission to prepare recommendations for future action and ordered the report to be made publicly available in simplified language, BSS reported.&nbsp;The interim government formed the commission in August, the same month Hasina fled the country amid mass protests that ended her party&rsquo;s more than 15 years in power.

Bangladesh

The Commission of Inquiry concludes Bangladesh’s ex-PM Sheikh Hasina ordered politically motivated enforced disappearances, documents 1,569 cases, and estimates thousands more during her 15-year rule.

Bangladesh inquiry says Hasina ordered enforced disappearances of political opponents

DHAKA: A Bangladeshi court remanded in custody on Wednesday 15 high-ranking army officers on charges of enforced disappearances and atrocities committed during the 2024 uprising that toppled the government. It is first time that formal charges have been brought for enforced disappearances in Bangladesh, and the first time so many senior military officials have faced a civilian trial. The men, including five generals, are accused of running a secret detention centre during the tenure of the now-ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina. All have served in Bangladeshi military intelligence or the feared paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). Defence lawyer Sarwar Hossain said all rejected the charges. The army has said it will assist the judicial process, but the situation has been tense since the court issued arrest warrants earlier this month. &quot;They declared their allegiance to the law of the land and their respect for the judicial process,&quot; the court&#39;s chief prosecutor Tajul Islam told reporters. &quot;That was reflected in the cooperation they have extended.&quot; UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk, in a statement on October 15, said that the court process was an important step towards accountability. &quot;It is a significant moment for victims and their families,&quot; Turk said. The officers were brought by a prison van to the court, guarded by a heavy deployment of police. &quot;These officers are confident of their innocence, and believe they will be released through due judicial process,&quot; their lawyer Hossain said. Bangladesh is prosecuting former senior figures connected to Hasina -- now a fugitive in exile in India -- and her now-banned Awami League party. Up to 1,400 people were killed in the clashes between July and August 2024 as the security forces tried to quash anti-government protests, according to the United Nations. During Hasina&#39;s rule, RAB forces carried out scores of killings, and the organisation was sanctioned by the United States in 2021. Hasina, 78, fled last year to New Delhi, where she has defied court orders to return to attend her ongoing crimes against humanity trial for ordering the deadly crackdown. Her trial in absentia is in its final stages, with Hasina&#39;s state-appointed defence giving closing arguments. The prosecution have demanded the death penalty for Hasina. Hasina&#39;s Awami League says that she &quot;categorically&quot; denies the charges.

Police personnel escort detained army officers to the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) court in Dhaka on October 22, 2025, over charges of crimes against humanity. (AFP)

It is first time that formal charges have been brought for enforced disappearances in Bangladesh, and the first time so many senior military officials have faced a civilian trial.

Bangladesh court detains army officers for landmark trial

DHAIKA: Bangladesh&#39;s most powerful political parties signed a charter on Friday aimed at ensuring democratic reform after next year&#39;s elections, following a mass uprising that toppled the previous government. However, celebrations of the government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus were muted after one party refused to sign, with police also firing tear gas to quash rock-throwing protesters ahead of the ceremony. Yunus, 85, has championed the document as his legacy, saying he inherited a &quot;completely broken down&quot; system and that reforms are needed to prevent a return to authoritarian rule. &quot;This is the moment we are ushering in a new Bangladesh,&quot; Yunus told the ceremony, held in front of parliament in Dhaka. &quot;We have been reborn.&quot; The South Asian nation of 170 million people has been in political turmoil since Sheikh Hasina was ousted as prime minister by a student-led revolt in August 2024. The document, dubbed the &quot;July Charter&quot; after last year&#39;s uprising, has sparked intense arguments between parties jostling for power ahead of polls slated for February. Yunus, who has pledged to step down after elections, says it will strengthen checks and balances between the executive, judicial and legislative branches. It includes proposals for a two-term limit for prime ministers and expanded presidential powers. It also aims to enshrine the recognition of Bangladesh as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation. Leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), seen as among the election front-runners, as well as Jamaat-e-Islami, the Muslim-majority nation&#39;s largest Islamist party, signed the charter. However, the National Citizen Party (NCP), made up of many students who spearheaded the uprising that ended Hasina&#39;s rule, boycotted the ceremony. Ahead of the ceremony, police and protesters clashed, including those who took part in demonstrations last year, demanding compensation for those who were injured. &quot;The bloodshed of martyrs is now forgotten,&quot; said Khandakar Mashruk Sarkar, 48. The charter was given a last-minute amendment to include monthly allowances for injured protesters. The document is expected to be ratified either by a referendum or by the new parliament to be elected. Mohammad Ibrahim Hossain, 25, an electrician, among the crowd watching the ceremony, was unclear exactly what changes the charter would make. &quot;I don&#39;t know what is in it, or what good it will bring for us,&quot; he said. &quot;I just don&#39;t want to see people die anymore.&quot;

Violent clashes erupted in Dhaka as police dispersed protesters opposing Bangladesh’s new political charter, introduced by interim leader Muhammad Yunus, ahead of its signing by major parties excluding Hasina’s Awami League.



Bangladesh parties sign landmark reform charter after protests

DHAKA: Bangladeshi prosecution lawyers demanded on Thursday that fugitive ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina receive the death penalty in her trial for crimes against humanity. Hasina has defied court orders to return from India, where she fled last year, to face charges of ordering a deadly crackdown in a failed attempt to crush a student-led uprising. Up to 1,400 people were killed in the clashes between July and August 2024, according to the United Nations. &quot;We demand the highest punishment for her,&quot; chief prosecutor Tajul Islam told reporters outside court. &quot;For a single murder, one death penalty is the rule. For 1,400 murders, she should be sentenced 1,400 times -- but since that is not humanly possible, we demand at least one.&quot; The prosecution alleges that Hasina, 78, was &quot;the nucleus around whom all the crimes committed during the July&ndash;August uprising revolved&quot;. She is being tried in absentia alongside two former senior officials. Her ex-interior minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, is also a fugitive, while former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun is in custody and has pleaded guilty. The prosecution said on Thursday that Kamal should also face the death penalty. The trial, which opened on June 1, has heard months of testimony alleging Hasina&#39;s role in ordering or failing to prevent mass killings. &quot;Her goal was to cling to power permanently -- for herself and her family,&quot; Islam said.

In this handout photograph taken and released on July 25, 2024 by Bangladesh Prime Minister's Office, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addresses the media at a vandalized metro station in Mirpur, after the anti-quota protests. (AFP)

Hasina has defied court orders to return from India, where she fled last year, to face charges of ordering a deadly crackdown in a failed attempt to crush a student-led uprising.

Bangladesh prosecution demands death penalty for ex-PM Hasina

Maham Khan

ISLAMABAD: Youth-led protests are reshaping political activism across Asia and Africa in 2025, with digital media emerging as a powerful tool for demanding systemic change. The &quot;Gen Z Protests&quot; began in Bangladesh in July 2024, led by young Bengali students demanding the removal of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. In 2025, similar youth-led protests spread from Timor-Leste and the Philippines to Nepal, Morocco, and Madagascar, driven by issues like corruption, economic inequality, infrastructure failures, and mass censorship. Madagascar targets elite control In Madagascar, protests erupted in September 2025 over prolonged water and power outages, widespread poverty, and government corruption. Protestors also condemned political elites. The World Bank reported that Madagascar&#39;s income per capita has fallen by 45% since 1960, with a &quot;small, unaccountable elite&quot; maintaining tight control over the economy, according to Reuters. Protesters have highlighted this inequality, using digital platforms to expose systemic issues. According to Reuters, the demonstrations have been &quot;the largest the Indian Ocean island has seen in years,&quot; with protesters demanding the president&#39;s resignation and the dissolution of key government institutions. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/83df9db8-ae2c-41ce-8eb3-626969019c3d-Madagascar police react to protesters demonstrating against chronic electricity and water cuts in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP).jpg" alt="Madagascar police react to protesters demonstrating against chronic electricity and water cuts in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP)" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic" style="line-height: 2;">Madagascar police react to protesters demonstrating against chronic electricity and water cuts in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP)</figcaption></figure>Social media fuels coordination The digital strategy driving these protests is remarkably sophisticated. Inspired by youth-led movements in Kenya and Nepal, Madagascar&#39;s Gen Z activists have used social media to coordinate nationwide demonstrations. &quot;This is not a retreat but a strategy: we will come back together more united, stronger,&quot; the protest movement&#39;s leadership declared in a Facebook post, as reported by Reuters on Thursday. The protests have spread beyond the capital, with protestors in far-off cities also chanting &quot;Rajoelina Out&quot; and carrying banners denouncing the government. Despite the country&rsquo;s president dissolving the government on Monday, AP reported that public anger continues to simmer. Nepal&rsquo;s activism blueprint Nepal&#39;s recent protests offer a blueprint for digital activism. When the government banned 26 social media platforms on September 4, 2025, activists shifted to alternative channels like Discord and used VPNs to bypass restrictions. The widespread youth-led protests escalated, leading to violent clashes and the eventual resignation of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli. The movement showed how digital tools can directly challenge political power. Digital power driving change These movements reveal a fundamental shift in political engagement. Digital platforms have transformed from communication tools to instruments of political change, allowing young people to organize, broadcast their messages, and challenge existing power structures with unprecedented speed and coordination.

People protest against corruption and calling for healthcare and education reform, in Casablanca, Morocco, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025. (AP)

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Youth-led Gen Z protests began in Bangladesh in 2024 and spread across Asia and Africa by 2025. Using digital platforms, activists oppose corruption, inequality, and poor infrastructure, demanding political change and elite accountability.

Articles tagged with "bangladesh protests"

Bangladesh inquiry says Hasina ordered enforced disappearances of political opponents

Bangladesh court detains army officers for landmark trial

Bangladesh parties sign landmark reform charter after protests

Bangladesh prosecution demands death penalty for ex-PM Hasina

Gen Z protests: Digital platforms fuel change from Asia to Africa