Bangladesh probe reveals children held in secret jails

Several children were among hundreds of people held in secret detention centers in Bangladesh, a commission investigating enforced disappearances carried out during the tenure of now deposed premier Sheikh Hasina revealed Tuesday.

At least half a dozen children spent months in black site jails with their mothers, the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances said in its preliminary report, saying babies were even used as leverage during interrogations, including denying them milk.

Dhaka has issued arrest warrants including on charges of crimes against humanity for 77-year-old 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 were 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 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's (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.

The commission says around 200 Bangladeshis abducted by security forces are still missing.

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 told AFP.

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

© Agence France-Presse