NCP demands return of missing fisherman Miraj Sheikh on 200th day of disappearance

The National Citizen Party (NCP) has demanded that the government immediately disclose the whereabouts of Miraj Sheikh, a 30-year-old fisherman who has been missing for 200 days, and produce him unharmed before the court in compliance with a High Court directive.

In a statement on Monday, the party accused the government of failing to ensure accountability in the case, alleging that authorities had blamed the victim, shielded security personnel and disregarded court orders.

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. The NCP, like Human Rights Watch (HRW), described the incident as the first case of enforced disappearance in the political context following the July uprising.

According to the statement, Miraj’s family went to the Coast Guard office in Dighraj, Mongla, the morning after his disappearance and was told that he was “on an operation”. Later that day, however, the Coast Guard denied that Miraj had been in its custody.

The family also faced difficulties filing a general diary with the police, being turned away four times on the grounds that complaints or cases could not be registered against members of the armed forces, the statement said.

On June 9, 12 local residents, including Miraj’s mother, wife and sister, were arrested following a confrontation between locals and Coast Guard personnel during a human chain demanding information about his whereabouts. They spent 27 days in jail, according to the NCP.

The party also criticised Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed for his remarks on the case. On June 20, the minister described Miraj as a “notorious pirate” and defended the Coast Guard’s actions as self-defence, the NCP alleged.

On August 29, the minister referred to the records of Miraj and his father and grandfather, suggesting that the disappearance might be linked to factional disputes among pirates. He also expressed concern that someone might be attempting to portray the incident as an enforced disappearance, the statement said.

The NCP described the remarks as blatant victim-blaming, arguing that the home minister had assumed the roles of investigator, judge and defender of the authorities rather than ensuring that Miraj was found.

The statement said the High Court Division on July 12 ordered the authorities to locate Miraj and produce him before the court within 15 working days. However, the government had neither disclosed his whereabouts nor produced him before the court despite the deadline having passed, it added.

The party said the failure to resolve the case amounted to a betrayal of the mandate of the July Uprising, which it said had sought to end enforced disappearances, detention without due process and abuses by state forces.

It also criticised what it described as a weak and questionable law concerning enforced disappearances and human rights commissions, arguing that the legislation signalled a risk of impunity for human rights violations.

The party placed five demands before the government: immediately disclose Miraj’s whereabouts and produce him unharmed before the court; bring those responsible for his disappearance and the alleged harassment and wrongful imprisonment of his family members to justice; withdraw all cases filed against his family and protesters and ensure witness protection; require the home minister to retract his remarks and apologise; and repeal the existing laws on enforced disappearances and human rights commissions and enact effective legislation providing for an independent investigative mechanism.

The NCP said the government’s handling of the case reflected the persistence of a culture of concealing alleged crimes involving state agencies.