'Worse than death': Victims describe the nightmare of Bangladesh's secret prisons during former regime

When the guards barged into his compartment 1 evening arsenic helium was saying his nightly prayers, Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem Arman was convinced it was over.

"I thought I was being taken for execution," the lawyer said. "I said a past supplication successful my caput for my passing to beryllium quick."

It had been 8 agelong years since Quasem was abducted from his Dhaka, Bangladesh, location by paramilitary forces and taken to a windowless compartment successful a concealed prison, wherever helium was kept successful the dark, blindfolded and handcuffed for 24 hours a day, for months connected end. 

But that evening successful August of past year, helium was abruptly shuffled from his compartment into a van and driven to an bare field, wherever his captors pushed him into a ditch. 

The gunshot helium was expecting ne'er came. Quasem heard the van thrust distant instead. 

"At the clip I didn't cognize that determination had been a alteration of regime, that the fascist [Hasina] had gone," Quasem, 40, told CBC News successful an interrogation astatine his bureau successful Bangladesh's superior Dhaka.

His abrupt merchandise came days aft Sheikh Hasina, the premier curate who had ruled Bangladesh with an robust fist for 15 years, fled the state aboard a helicopter, aft protesters stormed her authoritative residence pursuing respective weeks of bloody protests against her regime. 

As the South Asian state — present tally by interim person Muhammad Yunus, who's promised steep reforms — tries to rebuild a robust ideology pursuing the student-led uprising that ousted Hasina, stories similar Quasem's person shocked the country, with a clearer representation emerging of the erstwhile regime's attraction of dissenters. 

'House of Mirrors' 

Quasem is 1 of Bangladesh's "disappeared" — victims of a programme that targeted Hasina's governmental opponents, with hundreds vanishing without a hint aft being taken by information forces. 

Many ended up successful what was code-named the "House of Mirrors," a concealed subject detention centre successful the superior Dhaka, lone 1 of hundreds of suspected underground jails crossed the country. 

Other abductees were killed and their bodies thrown successful rivers, loaded down with cement bags to halt them from resurfacing, according to a Bangladeshi committee of inquiry. 

In its preliminary study released successful December, the commission, which was acceptable up by Bangladesh's interim authorities soon aft Hasina was chased from power, concluded that the erstwhile premier curate and her elder officials orchestrated a highly-organized programme of enforced disappearances that was "systematically designed" to stay nether the radar. 

WATCH | In Bangladesh, 7 months aft student-led protests toppled government: 

The country's International Court Tribunal issued apprehension warrants for alleged crimes against humanity during the convulsive protests past summer, and for Hasina's alleged relation successful the strategy of enforced disappearances portion she was successful office.

The United Nations quality rights bureau has besides accused Hasina and her information and quality apparatus of "serious and systematic" rights violations during the three-week protestation question that led to her ouster.

UN quality rights main Volker Türk estimated much than 1,400 demonstrators were killed, with the bulk changeable by constabulary oregon different information forces.

Turk said that an archetypal probe recovered the violations could magnitude to crimes against humanity, arsenic they were "carried retired with the knowledge, co-ordination, and absorption of the erstwhile governmental enactment and elder information officials" who were aiming to suppress the protests and enactment successful power.

Hasina, who is successful exile successful neighbouring India, denies the charges against her, calling them politically motivated. 

In a caller code connected societal media to her Awami League party's followers, the ousted premier curate accused Yunus of playing with occurrence and of destroying Bangladesh successful his "hunger for power." 

It came soon aft a tribunal successful Bangladesh issued yet different apprehension warrant for Hasina, this clip for allegedly abusing her powerfulness to procure onshore illegally. 

'Worse than death'

Quasem, grabbed by information forces astatine 32 years old, was kept successful adjacent full acheronian and could perceive others successful cells beside him crying and screaming arsenic they were being tortured. 

"What I was subjected to felt worse than death," said Quasem, who is struggling with post-traumatic accent and trauma-induced slump aft his ordeal. 

He had repeated tense breakdowns portion helium was held captive, mislaid dozens of pounds and developed epilepsy, arsenic good arsenic cataracts successful some eyes from malnutrition. His wrists often became earthy and infected from the metallic handcuffs that helium was forced to deterioration rubbing against his skin. 

But the worst symptom for Quasem during his 8 years of acheronian was affectional — worrying astir the toll connected his family, peculiarly his 2 daughters who were 3 and 4 years aged erstwhile helium was taken.

He was haunted by 1 vivid representation arsenic helium was being dragged into a van by paramilitary officers wearing plainclothes. Quasem heard his four-year-old girl moving aft him, carrying his shoes and telling him helium shouldn't permission location without them. 

"It felt similar I was [being] buried alive. Not knowing whether my household knew whether I was live oregon dead," Quasem said, calling the detention centres "meticulously designed to prolong suffering". 

The palmy lawyer was taken portion helium was successful the mediate of a high-profile proceedings arsenic portion of the ineligible squad defending his father, Jamaat-e-Islami, a salient person successful Bangladesh's Islamist absorption party. 

His begetter was convicted and executed for alleged warfare crimes a period aft Quasem was forcibly disappeared. 

Quasem, seemingly targeted for his household connections alternatively than thing else, is present backmost with his family, trying to readjust to a beingness that was devastated. With 8 years stolen from him, he's missed seeing his daughters turn into teenagers.

"We are begetter and daughter. But it's arsenic if we're strangers," helium said, trying to picture the lingering trauma. 

"I person to get to cognize my children each implicit again."  

'The symptom is truthful fresh'

The committee examining the strategy of enforced disappearances nether Hasina's regularisation received much than 1,600 reports of radical being forcibly disappeared, and much than 700 accounts person been verified. But officials judge the existent fig of victims could beryllium 2 oregon 3 times higher.

For hundreds of families, the agony is successful not knowing what happened to their loved ones.

"It's been 12 years and the symptom is truthful fresh," said Mashrufa Islam, breaking down successful tears during an interrogation astatine her Dhaka location arsenic she described what happened to her abbu, meaning begetter successful Bengali. 

Saiful Islam Heru, a erstwhile autarkic MP, disappeared successful November 2013, 2 months earlier a wide predetermination successful Bangladesh successful which Hasina won by a landslide. 

The elections were not just and free, according to quality rights groups and assorted planetary leaders, who criticized the wide crackdown connected absorption politicians earlier the vote.

Heru was driving backmost to Dhaka with his member and 1 of Islam's cousins erstwhile they were stopped by paramilitary officers, said Islam, 39. 

Her household tried to get answers, repeatedly visiting officials with the Bangladesh police's elite anti-terrorism portion to inquire what had happened to Heru, until Islam said she herself received a veiled threat. 

"[A elder officer] told me: 'You could besides spell missing,'" Islam said. 

The household instantly stopped speaking retired astir her father, fearing they would besides go targets.  

Nearly 12 years later, Islam said she didn't person immoderate anticipation near that her father, who would present beryllium 75, is inactive alive. His is 1 of the 330 cases the committee of enquiry has tracked wherever the victims person not returned home. 

"He didn't merit this. Only due to the fact that helium was successful an absorption enactment from the ruling government," said Islam. 

"They kept connected making radical disappear," she said, done her tears. "This is not the mode of a escaped country. This is not the mode of a democracy."

She wants to cognize precisely what her begetter went through, adjacent though her aging parent and her older sister similar not to perceive the details. 

The full household is praying they volition spot justice, including jailhouse clip for those "at the highest level" who allegedly issued the bid to abduct her father. 

That mightiness supply immoderate benignant of closure, Islam said, adjacent if the information that her begetter was forcibly disappeared robbed her household of the dignity of saying goodbye.

"It's specified a achy thing," she said. "Not seeing your father, not giving him a due funeral."

'Some volition inactive beryllium untraceable'  

In February, Bangladesh's caretaker leader, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, visited respective of the concealed prisons. 

"We don't privation to enactment successful this darkness," Yunus, 84, told reporters pursuing the tour. 

He credited those connected the enforced disappearances committee with doing the hard enactment to stitchery grounds and springiness credence to the stories from those who survived the detention centres, and from victims' families inactive waiting for answers. 

"They person implicit impervious and they volition get justice," said Yunus, who has promised to instrumentality steep reforms. He added that the wider extremity is to marque definite the horrors of concealed prisons and extrajudicial killings are not repeated successful the future. "That's our commitment." 

But the interim authorities knows however hard the task up mightiness be, with the scars of the disappearances moving heavy successful a state wherever justness is often delayed, and galore of the accused presently successful hiding extracurricular Bangladesh. 

While Yunus has promised that Hasina volition basal proceedings for crimes against humanity, adjacent though India has truthful acold ignored its neighbour's extradition requests, helium has besides tried to temper expectations implicit however rapidly the families of victims volition spot high-level information officials down the enforced disappearances down bars themselves. 

"Some volition get punished, immoderate volition inactive beryllium nether the process, immoderate volition inactive beryllium untraceable," the interim person told Sky News past month. 

An predetermination successful Bangladesh is expected arsenic aboriginal arsenic December 2025, though that day could beryllium pushed backmost a fewer months, with the gait of reforms slow. 

But Sanjida Islam Tulee and different household members of the victims accidental they are bushed of the agelong hold for answers. 

The disappearance of her member Sajedul Islam Sumon successful 2013 prompted Tulee and their parent to make a protestation radical called Mayer Daak, oregon "mother's call." The radical organized thoroughfare rallies to bring attraction to the plight of Bangladesh's disappeared adjacent portion Hasina was inactive successful power, contempt unit from the then-government to enactment quiet. 

In the days aft Hasina fled the country, hopes were high, said Tulee. She and her parent had a lengthy sojourn with Yunus, who had conscionable been named main advisor to pb the interim government. 

But weeks passed with inactive nary connection connected justness for their missing household members. 

"People support talking astir the caller Bangladesh, astir change. But I don't spot immoderate results," Tulee, 41, told CBC News.

"All I spot connected my broadside is truthful overmuch symptom and trauma." 

She wants just and transparent trials and for those successful complaint of the strategy of enforced disappearances to beryllium punished. 

Islam says she would besides similar to spot the concealed prisons unfastened to everyone, arsenic a reminder of the horrific section successful Bangladesh's caller history. 

"We privation this information to travel out."