The government has officially approved the Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Redress Ordinance-2025, which outlines the death penalty as the highest punishment for specific cases of enforced disappearance. The endorsement occurred during the 47th advisory council meeting chaired by Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus at his Tejgaon office yesterday.
Following the meeting, Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam informed reporters at the Foreign Service Academy that a compensation fund has been established for victims’ families. The ordinance includes provisions for special tribunals, expedited trials within 120 days of charges being laid, safeguarding the rights of victims, informants, and witnesses, and ensuring compensation and legal aid.
Sources familiar with the draft revealed that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), rather than law enforcement agencies, will investigate enforced disappearance cases. The ordinance specifies that a failure to present a detainee before a court within 24 hours of arrest will be considered an enforced disappearance.
Furthermore, the law mandates that investigations must be completed within 90 days, with a potential extension of up to one month. Officers failing to meet this deadline may face disciplinary measures. If a person remains missing, the NHRC is required to continue search efforts until their fate is determined, providing progress reports every three months to the families concerned.
The death penalty is reserved for cases where the victim of enforced disappearance is deemed permanently untraceable or deceased. In instances where the victim is found alive, the ordinance prescribes imprisonment ranging from 10 years to life for those responsible. Those involved in constructing, establishing, or using secret detention centers may face a seven-year jail term and a fine of up to Tk 20 lakh.
Offenses under this law are non-bailable and cannot be settled out of court. The ordinance grants the NHRC the authority to inspect any facility for secret detention centers and take legal action if any are discovered. The NHRC is empowered to summon and interrogate individuals during investigations, lifting previous restrictions preventing the NHRC from probing disciplined forces.
Investigating officers deputed from various state agencies will be assigned to the NHRC and will report directly to the commission, ensuring impartiality. These officers will possess magistracy powers equivalent to a police station officer-in-charge and cannot belong to the same organization as the accused in a case.
The ordinance calls for the establishment of special tribunals in each division and potentially in every district. Fines outlined in the ordinance will be utilized as compensation for victims, with the government covering any remaining amount if the accused cannot pay even after liquidating assets.