During the Awami League regime, those responsible inside the secret detention centres would try to help detainees in various ways.
While the higher authorities would give orders on what kind of torture to inflict on detainees, many did not fully carry those out, keeping their gesture a secret, enforced disappearance victims said in their testimony to Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances.
The detainees even told the commission that some of those officials on duty would even untie the victims on certain occasions.
The commission also received such information from members of the law enforcement agencies, intelligence agencies, and security forces involved.
Later, they verified the information through testimonies of victims and eyewitnesses, presenting all in their second interim report.
On 4 June, the commission submitted the report to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus.
Earlier, on 14 December, the first report was submitted. The commission's tenure has been extended until 31 December this year.
How law enforcers and soldiers defied orders to kill, gave food to detainees
In the disappearance commission's report, one victim described that a soldier would give his food to the detainees.
The commission confirmed the truth of this incident from a victim who received food from that soldier.
Seeing the situation in the detention centre, that soldier had also sought release from his duty.
A woman who was secretly detained under RAB-11 told the disappearance commission that one of the guards in the detention centre loosened her (the woman's) restraints.
The guard said, "Ah, Apa, you are suffering so much. Let me loosen the ropes a bit, and you can get some rest. When you hear Sir's footsteps, stand up. I will handcuff you again."
Once, due to carelessness, the whereabouts of a detainee held for a long time were exposed.
So, an order came to kill that detainee.
However, the officer who was given the responsibility refused to follow the order.
"If you want him killed, then transfer me from here. I will not kill him," he said.
The commission stated that the woman was ultimately not killed and no action was taken against that officer either.
The dangers of taking a stand
Members of the security forces who took a stand against enforced disappearances or extrajudicial killings would face various ordeals. The commission has presented several such examples in Chapter Six of the report.
One security force officer complained to the commission that because he gave a neutral opinion about disappearances, he was isolated from his colleagues, warning notes about him would be spread even before any new posting, and even his family was kept under surveillance.
The report also includes the account of another young man.
According to him, his brother worked for an intelligence agency in the country. His brother was asked to make a list of political "opponents". The intelligence officer diligently prepared the list.
Later, it was seen that everyone on that list was gradually killed.
After learning this, the intelligence officer broke down mentally. His condition became so severe that he had to be hospitalised for treatment.
Opposition did not always bring immediate repercussions.
Some survived even after expressing their dissent. But information about these officers or their refusals would be noted down and sent to the then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina directly.
The commission further states that after Hasina fled, several such notes were recovered from Ganabhaban.
Killings did not stop despite opposition
The commission's report states that incidents like enforced disappearances or killings did not stop even when members or officers of the security forces opposed them.
The report says that, with state backing, sometimes victims were thrown under railway lines or moving vehicles, killed, and then the bodies were made to disappear.
A soldier's account is included in the commission's report.
It says that a detainee escaped for a short time from one "safe house".
He was caught and brought back. At that time, a young officer nearby was trembling with fear. He feared that because the detainee had escaped, he (the officer) might be punished.
The report on crimes like enforced disappearance was given unofficial approval. And those who committed these acts were not considered real criminals.
Silent Approval of Crime
In the 15 years of Sheikh Hasina's regime, an environment had developed where crimes like enforced disappearance received silent approval, the commission said.
The investigation commission considers the involvement of law enforcement and intelligence officers in this matter to be a "deep crisis".
They reviewed the files of seven officers from the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and found preliminary evidence that these officers were involved in serious crimes, including enforced disappearance.
The word "disappearance" was not, however, mentioned in any of the agency's files reviewed.
The commission says it was made to seem as if these army and police officers were never involved in any such crimes.
In Chapter Six of the second interim report, the commission comments that apart from the politicisation of the judiciary, two factors have played a key role in implementing repressive measures like disappearances.
One is the "culture of impunity", which acts like silent approval, within the country's security forces.
The other is the consensus formed internationally in the name of the war on terror or under the pretext of "maintaining stability".
Security analyst and retired Major General Naeem Ashfaq Chowdhury told Dhaka Stream, "For the state, it is necessary to have every institution operate according to rules. Without this, the government could be caught off guard. To protect the country's interests, the police, DGFI, and all institutions must be allowed to play their classical roles.
"Another point is that any crime is the responsibility of the individual, not the institution. What can be done now is to make their activities more dynamic and ensure transparency."
Disappearances are a result of a politically motivated, institutional system
The incidents of enforced disappearances that occurred in Bangladesh are not isolated events or the result of a few officers' irresponsibility. It is the result of a politically motivated institutional system.
In this way, crime has been encouraged, normalised, and in many cases even rewarded, the commission's report says.
Expressing concern over the current situation, the disappearance commission's report states, "Even after 5 August, the culture of impunity remains. The previous structure is still operating in many cases just as before."
As a result, in some cases, the commission faced non-cooperation while doing its work.
Commission member Nabila Idris told Stream, "We have received many complaints about disappearances – more than 1,800. In the two reports we have already given, many issues have been presented. Complaints are still coming in. Some investigations have not yet been completed. The remaining work on those is ongoing."
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