Staff Correspondent

At least six children, and a pregnant woman were held in Aynaghars, the notorious secret detention centres of Awami League government, the state commission investigating enforced disappearances has reportedly learnt.

Turkish TV channel TRT World reported the commission’s findings on Tuesday.

Some children were held with their mothers for months, and some were used as leverages to extract information or false confessions from their parents. Mothers held with children, including pregnant ones, were beaten, the commission has learnt.

The commission says around 200 Bangladeshis abducted by security forces during the authoritarian Awami League regime are still missing.

TRT World’s detailed report is as follows:

Dhaka has issued arrest warrants including on charges of crimes against humanity for 77-year-old Sheikh Hasina, who fled to old ally India in August 2024 after she was toppled by a student-led revolution.

Hasina's government was accused of widespread human rights abuses, including the extrajudicial killing of hundreds of political opponents and the unlawful abduction and disappearance of hundreds more.

The commission said it had detailed "multiple verified cases where women disappeared along with their children", including as recently as 2023.

It highlighted a case where a pregnant woman – held along with her two young children – was beaten in a secret detention centre.

"This was not an isolated case," the report stated.

The commission said one witness showed investigators the room in the detention site she had been held in as a child with her mother, run by the much-feared paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

"Her mother never returned", the report read.

In another incident, a couple and their baby were detained, with the child starved of mother's milk "as a form of psychological torture" to pressure the father.

When in power, Hasina's government denied committing enforced disappearances, claiming some of those reported missing had drowned in the Mediterranean while trying to reach Europe.

Committee member Sazzad Hossain said that while some victims could not pinpoint the exact officers who tortured them, their testimonies would be used to identify the forces involved.

"In such cases, we will recommend holding the commander accountable," Hossain said.

"The effects on the victims' families have been multifaceted, ranging from severe psychological trauma to legal and financial challenges", the report added.