Bangladesh’s High Court has ordered authorities to locate fisherman Miraj Sheikh and produce him within 15 days after witnesses said Coast Guard officers detained him April 10 near the Sundarbans.
Human Rights Watch said the case appears to be Bangladesh’s first known enforced disappearance since the July 2024 uprising. Sheikh’s family said Coast Guard officials initially told them he was participating in an operation, then denied he had been held. Coast Guard officials have repeatedly denied detaining him.
The July 12 order followed a habeas corpus petition from Sheikh’s father.
Human Rights Watch urged the government to restore independent investigations into disappearances after reforms adopted by the interim government expired. A commission documented 1,569 disappearance cases from 2009 to 2024 and called the total a substantial undercount.