Bangladesh Cabinet approves death penalty provision in enforced disappearance bill

The Cabinet approved the draft at a meeting at the Secretariat in the capital Dhaka on Monday, chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, the Cabinet Division said in a notification.

The draft provides for life imprisonment and a fine for the crime of enforced disappearance.

If an enforced disappearance results in death, the victim’s body is found, or the person cannot be recovered alive or dead within five years, the draft allows for the death penalty or life imprisonment and a maximum fine of 10 million taka (about $80,000).

The proposed law requires investigations to be completed within 120 days and trials within another 120 days.

The Cabinet Division said that “in order to establish human rights, human dignity, individual freedom and the rule of law, the Disappearance Prevention and Remedies Act, 2026 has identified disappearance as a separate, cognizable, non-bailable and non-compromising criminal offense.”

The law would establish a comprehensive legal framework to prevent enforced disappearances, prosecute those responsible, locate missing people and ensure compensation, rehabilitation and other rights for victims and their families.

Calls for punishment over enforced disappearances intensified after Sheikh Hasina’s government was ousted during the mass uprising of 2024.

A Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances was formed after the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus took office following Hasina’s flight to India on Aug. 5, 2024.

The commission received 1,913 complaints through January this year, including 287 cases involving people who remained missing or were confirmed dead.

It estimated, however, that the actual number of enforced disappearances could range from 4,000 to 6,000.

The commission has accused Hasina, members of her Cabinet and law enforcement officials of involvement in enforced disappearances, which it said were largely politically motivated.