Lawmakers, lawyers, former military officers and returned victims of enforced disappearance criticised a draft law on disappearances at a discussion in Banglamotor, Dhaka, on Saturday. The event, organised by rights group Odhikar for the International Day of the Disappeared, heard objections to provisions that could imprison a complainant for five years if an allegation cannot be proven and allow police to investigate disappearance cases.

BNP lawmaker A M Mahbub Uddin Khokon said victims or relatives may not know who carried out a disappearance and questioned whether police could properly verify such allegations. Jamaat lawmaker and returned victim Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem called the draft a “garbage law,” arguing that it interferes with constitutionally recognised freedom of expression and limits legal remedies. Returned victim Abdullah Al Amin said placing the burden of proof on victims was inhumane where state institutions allegedly destroy evidence.

Odhikar placed three demands before the government. It called for investigations to be assigned to an independent National Human Rights Commission rather than law-enforcement agencies, legal arrangements for families of people who have not returned to manage bank accounts and transfer property, and withdrawal of cases described as false against returned victims.