Human Rights Forum Bangladesh (HRFB) today expressed concern and anger over the harassment and coercion of family members of enforced disappearance victims by police.
The rights group in a statement also demanded to know the whereabouts of the victims and asked the police to stop making such moves immediately.
The organisation said some family members of enforced disappearance victims alleged that they were being harassed and coerced into signing written statements stating that they deliberately misled the police by concealing information.
At the same time, they urged the police to immediately stop such tactics, ensure the safety of the families of the victims, and reveal the whereabouts of the missing persons, added the statement.
Protesting the move of police, the human rights group said, instead of returning their relatives, the police are exacerbating the plight of the families of the victims.
Although police have mentioned that this is a part of their regular duty, their claim is not consistent with the statements of the families of the victims, reads the statement.
The statement said that the government has failed to establish justice in the face of serious allegations of human rights abuses, subject to a fair and impartial investigation.
In this context, the forum is demanding the government to establish accountability and justice by avoiding the ongoing trend of rejecting allegations of human rights violations and placed five demands in this connection.
The demands are --
- Immediately issue instructions from the high ups of government to stop such moves by law enforcement agencies.
- Take action against those involved in the harassment after conducting a fair investigation.
- Ensure the safety of the families of the enforced disappearance.
- Establish justice by immediately locating missing persons and handing them over to their families, paying them compensation and taking action against those involved in harassing victims' families.
- Ensure prompt and independent investigation into all allegations of violations against law enforcement agencies.
Meanwhile, Dhaka Metropolitan Police denied the allegations brought against police and issued a rejoinder defending the force.
The rejoinder said the reports published in media were exaggerated and distorted, which appears to be a deliberate attempt to tarnish the image of the police.
