Human Rights Support Society (HRSS) on Saturday called for an independent investigation into the disappearance of Miraj Sheikh and all other allegations of enforced disappearance, demanding that security agencies accused in such cases be barred from investigating themselves.

The rights group also demanded protection, compensation and rehabilitation for victims and their families, prosecution of those responsible, and greater state accountability for enforced disappearances.

The demands came at a roundtable discussion held at the Tofazzal Hossain Manik Mia Hall of the National Press Club to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

Human rights activists, lawyers, researchers, journalists and family members of victims took part in the discussion.

Speakers said that whenever a law enforcement or security agency is accused of involvement in an enforced disappearance, neither that agency nor any institution under its control should be allowed to investigate the allegation.

They also stressed that documents, custody registers, video footage, call records, duty records and other evidence relevant to such investigations must be preserved and made available.

Human rights activist Nur Khan Liton raised the case of Miraj Sheikh, who has been missing since allegedly being picked up from Mongla on April 10, and criticised the government over what he described as its failure to take visible action.

Liton urged the government to immediately take concrete steps to return Miraj to his family or disclose what had happened to him.

Otherwise, he warned, the government's negligence and inaction would be established and the current government could also be held responsible for enforced disappearances in the future.

Miraj's sister, Liza Islam, who attended the discussion, said the family had been unable to trace him since he was allegedly picked up from Mongla on April 10.

Liton also called for the National Human Rights Commission to be given the authority to investigate allegations against security forces.

If the commission cannot investigate enforced disappearances allegedly committed by law enforcement agencies, he said, there was no justification for spending large amounts of public money to maintain such an ineffective institution.

Barrister Sara Hossain, meanwhile, called for provisions guaranteeing independent investigations to be incorporated into the proposed Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Act and the National Human Rights Commission Act.

Family members of victims attending the event demanded that their missing relatives be located, the truth about their fate established, victims and their families compensated, and those responsible for the disappearances brought to justice.

HRSS presented a 12-point set of demands aimed at ensuring accountability for past disappearances and preventing future abuses.

The demands include locating those who remain missing; investigating and prosecuting allegations of enforced disappearance committed between 2009 and 2024; implementing the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances; ensuring the independence of the National Human Rights Commission; and guaranteeing victims' “Right to Truth.”

Speakers argued that independent investigations were essential to ensuring accountability, particularly in cases where members of state security agencies themselves face allegations.

They said no force accused of an enforced disappearance should be allowed to investigate itself or have the investigation conducted by an agency under its control.

They also emphasised the importance of preserving and providing all evidence necessary for investigations, including official documents, custody registers, video footage, telephone call records and duty records.

Supreme Court lawyer and HRSS General Secretary Advocate Moniruzzaman delivered the welcome remarks at the event.

HRSS Executive Director Ijazul Islam presented the keynote paper.

The discussion was also attended by human rights activist and photographer Shahidul Alam; enforced disappearance victim and Dhaka-14 lawmaker Barrister Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem (Arman); former member of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances Dr Nabila Idris; Barrister Shaykh Mahdi; and Sabrina Ahmed, assistant human rights officer at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Bangladesh.

Prominent lawyers, human rights activists, academics and researchers also participated in the roundtable.

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