1 month ago
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Michael Chakma, a Bangladeshi indigenous people's rights activist who was abducted five years ago in April 2019, was found alive earlier this month, along with the families of hundreds of others who 'disappeared' under Sheikh Hasina's regime, as per Reuters news agency.
Chakma was awakened by his captors on August 7 in the dark, tiny cell where he was being held and thrown into a car, handcuffed and blindfolded, he said, the world outside did not know where he was or if he was even alive.
"I thought they will kill me," he said. Instead, he was freed, in teak gardens near Chittagong district in southeastern Bangladesh, around 250 km from Dhaka.
The 45-year-old was tortured and beaten for weeks by his captors, who questioned him about his opposition to then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he said.
“They kept asking me why I criticise the Awami League government in my social media, they said AL is the government and the government is the state. Therefore no one should criticise the actions of AL or Sheikh Hasina,” Chakma said, as per the Guardian.
His captors woke him up in the dark, tiny cell where he was being held and thrown into a car, handcuffed and blindfolded.
"I thought they will kill me," he said. Instead, he was freed, in teak gardens near Chittagong district in southeastern Bangladesh, around 250 km from Dhaka.
Chakma controlled his tears as he shared his ordeal: "It was difficult to breathe. Initially, they told me that they would release me soon, but as months and years passed, I gave up hope of getting out. Each day felt like 100 days there".
The activist endured mental and physical
torture
during his captivity in spaces so confined it felt like “a grave”, he said, as reported by the Guardian.
Chakma says he had lost all hope of ever seeing his family or daylight again.
“My family assumed I was dead and conducted all religious rituals for a funeral in my absence,” Chakma tells the Guardian. “My return is as shocking to me as it is miraculous for them. It truly feels like a resurrection."
“This ‘afterlife’ still unnerves me from time to time. I suffer from nightmares and mental breakdowns, and I’m often terrified by sounds. I can’t sleep; everything seems so scary to me,” he adds.
Chakma is among hundreds of people killed or detained during Hasina’s regime, which faced criticism for its increasing authoritarianism. He was among three
political prisoners
released after the student protests which forced Hasina from power and saw the appointment of an interim government headed by entrepreneur and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
The interim government said this week the commission will "investigate enforced disappearances that occurred" since January 1, 2010 "allegedly involving members of the police" and arms of the paramilitary, intelligence and military.
Asia Deputy Director for
Human Rights Watch
Meenakshi Ganguly said, "As a first step, the security forces should release all those that are disappeared, or if they were killed in custody, provide answers to the families", as per Reuters news agency.
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