Nabila Idris slams govt over failure to allow independent probe into Miraj Sheikh disappearance

Former Human Rights Commission and Enforced Disappearances Commission member Dr Nabila Idris on Monday criticised the government for failing to allow an independent investigation into the disappearance of fisherman Miraj Sheikh.

Miraj, a resident of Joymani in Bagerhat’s Mongla upazila, went missing on April 10 after being picked up by plainclothes individuals identifying themselves as Coast Guard personnel.

Marking the 200th day since his disappearance, Idris said in a Facebook post that the government had not allowed an independent investigation and had instead abolished the power to conduct such probes through legislation.

She also said she was not surprised by Inspector General of Police Md Ali Hossain Fakir’s remark earlier in the day that police would resort to crossfire killings if the government permitted them.

“How can I be surprised to hear the IGP say that ‘the police will not hesitate to carry out crossfire killings if the government gives permission?’ They have dismantled the system for conducting independent investigations into encounters, and they have not allowed an independent police commission that could protect officers who refuse to obey orders,” she wrote.

Idris said they had repeatedly warned the government that problems arising from flawed laws could not be solved through the prime minister’s so-called goodwill.

“I clearly remember how the government’s bigwigs dismissed what we said. To be honest, out of desperation, I too eventually put my faith in the promise of goodwill,” she said.

She said that faith was shaken after Miraj’s disappearance.

“I was very, very, very hurt when several responsible individuals whom I had considered trustworthy told me bluntly, ‘This is not exactly an enforced disappearance.’ My God, where had all that goodwill gone?”

Idris also feared the government would eventually defend crossfire killings by saying, “That was not exactly a crossfire killing.”

She said she had watched authorities become increasingly unashamed of arresting people for criticising the government.

“Now, they shamelessly defend such arrests,” she wrote.

She also criticised the government for advancing what she called “rubbish theories such as freedom of speech versus decorum of speech”.

“First, the excuse was insulting the prime minister, then insulting a minister. From there, the scope expanded to criticism of the government and its policies, and yesterday, someone was finally sent to jail for criticising the ruling party itself. How quickly the whole saga of goodwill fell apart.”

Idris concluded that if the prime minister wanted credit for goodwill, he must also take the blame for its absence.