Human Rights Watch (HRW) has expressed concern over a reported enforced disappearance in Bangladesh, marking the first such allegation since the 2024 anti-autocracy uprising. In a statement issued on Sunday, HRW urged the government to reinstate previously canceled reform measures and ensure accountability within security forces. The organization called for immediate implementation of a High Court order to investigate the disappearance of 30-year-old Miraj Sheikh, who was last seen in the custody of the Coast Guard on July 10.

The statement recalled that enforced disappearances were widespread during the Sheikh Hasina administration, which was ousted in 2024. The interim government that followed had empowered the National Human Rights Commission to independently investigate such cases, but the current BNP-led government allowed those ordinances to lapse. HRW criticized a new draft law that would remove the commission’s authority to probe human rights violations by security forces.

HRW warned that without restoring independent investigative powers and institutional reforms, enforced disappearances could recur. The organization urged the government to amend the proposed law to ensure the commission’s independence and effective accountability mechanisms.