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Prime Minister Tarique Rahman
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has affirmed that the government has launched thorough investigative and judicial proceedings into every past incident of enforced disappearance, vowing that no perpetrator of this grave crime against humanity will evade legal accountability.
In an official message issued on Saturday on the eve of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the Prime Minister extended heartfelt solidarity and profound sympathy to all victims and their affected families across Bangladesh and around the globe. Underscoring the government's resolve to eradicate state-sponsored abductions and restore justice, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman stated:
"Enforced disappearance is among the most heinous and dreadful crimes known to mankind—a global catastrophe representing the absolute violation of fundamental human rights. The ousted fascist regime systematically used state law enforcement agencies to orchestrate abductions and operate clandestine torture networks known as 'Aynaghar' to stifle democratic dissent and annihilate political opposition. Our administration has initiated rigorous probes and judicial trials for every single case while simultaneously piloting a dedicated statutory mechanism to eradicate disappearances forever."
Citing data compiled by domestic and international human rights organizations, the Prime Minister noted that more than 700 citizens were forcibly disappeared during the past authoritarian regime. He highlighted that while the historic 2024 student-people mass uprising led to the miraculous return of several individuals, prominent representatives including BNP leader M. Ilias Ali and former ward commissioner Chowdhury Alam remain missing.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman pointed out that the government has already tabled two landmark statutory instruments—the Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Bill, 2026 and the National Human Rights Commission Bill, 2026—in the Jatiya Sangsad. Emphasizing that enforced disappearance is defined as a crime against humanity under Article 7(2) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, he called for robust global solidarity under this year's international theme, 'Victims First, Actions Now', to demand accountability from all implicated individuals and institutions.
