Last Updated on January 17, 2026 9:29 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
Incidents of enforced disappearance in Bangladesh increased sharply ahead of national elections, with opposition leaders and activists selectively targeted, according to a report by the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances.
Presenting year-by-year data, the commission said that during the Awami League’s 16 years in power, enforced disappearance became a routine practice, particularly before elections, affecting leaders and supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami. The five-member commission, headed by Justice Moinul Islam Chowdhury, submitted its final report to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on January 4.
The report notes that 61 cases of enforced disappearance occurred in 2012, rising sharply to 128 in 2013 ahead of the January 2014 election. Similar spikes were recorded around the 2018 and 2024 elections.
According to the report, BNP and Jamaat leaders and activists were frequently picked up ahead of major rallies and protests. Three elections, in 2014, 2018 and 2024, were held amid repression. The 2014 and 2024 polls were boycotted by most parties, while the 2018 election was later dubbed a “night-time vote” due to allegations of ballot stuffing.
The commission documented 1,564 incidents of enforced disappearance between 2009 and 2024, with the highest number recorded in 2016 (215 cases), followed by 2017 (194) and 2018 (192).
In total, 1,913 complaints were submitted to the commission, of which 1,569 were verified as enforced disappearances. Among them, 948 victims were targeted due to political identity, and 157 remain missing. Of those still missing, 68% are BNP and Jubo Dal leaders and activists, while 22% belong to Jamaat–Shibir. While Jamaat-affiliated activists formed a larger share of total victims, BNP leaders were more numerous among those who never returned.
The report highlights a link between enforced disappearances and changes in leadership within law enforcement agencies. It notes that when RAB officer Major General Ziaul Ahsan was removed from his post in 2016, the number of disappearances declined, though the practice did not stop entirely. After the US imposed sanctions on RAB in December 2021 over human rights abuses, incidents briefly declined but later resumed, the commission said. Facing international scrutiny over extrajudicial killings, the Awami League government shifted strategy after 2009, the report said. “Instead of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearance was adopted as a tool to suppress dissenting views,” it concluded.