Thousands of Bangladeshi protesters marched Wednesday demanding information on hundreds of people they say security forces have abducted during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s nearly 15 years in power.
Opposition supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies joined families of those missing to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, many with black gags over their mouths.
The government denies the allegations of disappearances and extrajudicial killings, saying some of those reported missing drowned in the Mediterranean while trying to reach Europe.
National elections are due in Bangladesh by the end of January, but rights groups and foreign governments have long raised concerns over efforts by Hasina’s government to silence criticism and stamp out political dissent.
“I am not just afraid… every single day I wake up, I am absolutely terrified,” said Humam Quader Chowdhury, a BNP official.
He said he had been detained by security forces for seven months. Chowdhury told protesters in the capital Dhaka that, during his detention, he saw a senior official on television deny he was in custody.
Ten-year-old Mariam Bushra held a photograph of her missing father, opposition activist and lawyer Ahmad Bin Quasem.—AFP
