Desk Report,
After covering their faces with a towel, water was poured over them. They stopped breathing. It felt like they were drowning. Some people fainted due to fear, panic and suffocation. This method of torture is called ‘waterboarding’. This horrific torture was carried out on the victims of enforced disappearances in the secret detention centers of RAB.
The matter has been raised in the second interim report of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances. The report titled ‘Unfolding the Truth: A Structural Diagnosis of Enforced Disappearances in Bangladesh’ was handed over to the Chief Advisor, Professor Muhammad Yunus, on June 4.
The report, which analyzed about 1,850 complaints, presents information on 253 victims of enforced disappearances, the commission said.

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Disappearance victims describe horrific torture in secret detention centers
Mehedi Hasan
Dhaka
Updated: 05 July 2025, 19:56
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Many of the disappeared victims were tortured using the ‘waterboarding’ method. Photo: Taken from the report of the Commission of Inquiry into Disappearances
After covering their faces with a towel, water was poured over them. They would stop breathing. It felt like they were drowning. Some would faint from fear, panic and suffocation. This method of torture is called ‘waterboarding’. The horrific torture was carried out on the victims of enforced disappearances in the secret detention centers of RAB.
The issue has been raised in the second interim report of the Commission of Inquiry into Enforced Disappearances. The report titled ‘Unfolding the Truth: A Structural Diagnosis of Enforced Disappearances in Bangladesh’ was handed over to the Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus on June 4.
The report, according to the commission, has analyzed about 1,850 complaints and presented information on 253 victims of enforced disappearances.
The report has revealed chilling descriptions of many people who were disappeared by law enforcement and security agencies. They have spoken of being kept in unsanitary cells, being hung upside down and beaten, having their nails pulled out, being given electric shocks, being placed on a rotating chair, and other horrific torture methods.
In most cases, no written records were kept of these disappearances, abductions or detentions. As a result, the report states that responsibility for the torture has been evaded.
Earlier, on December 14 last year, the Commission of Inquiry into Disappearances submitted its first interim report. It revealed various accounts of who was involved in the disappearance of people with opposing views during the 15 years of the Awami League government, how they were disappeared, and how they were tortured or killed.
