aynaghar

The term aynaghar (আয়নাঘর) comes from the Bengali words ayna (আয়না), meaning "mirror" and ghar (ঘর), meaning "house" or "room." Thus, aynaghor translates to "house of mirrors". This name reflects the deceptive nature of these facilities, where the harsh realities of detainees' suffering are hidden from public view, similar to how a mirror can distort or obscure an image.

The term became widely known through reports detailing the experiences of individuals allegedly held in these secret prisons. Victims have shared accounts of inhumane treatment, isolation and torture. The facilities are described as having thick walls and iron doors that block out all light, creating an environment of complete darkness for the detainees. This oppressive setting highlights the term's significance, as it represents the hidden and brutal realities of enforced disappearances in Bangladesh. Over time, Aynaghor has come to symbolise broader issues of state repression, human rights violations, and the struggle for political freedom, serving as a reminder of the victims' suffering and the ongoing fight for justice and accountability.{{Cite web |last=GDC |date=22 August 2022 |title=Bangladesh DGFI Operates Uyghur-style Secret Detention And Solitary Confinement Facilities In Dhaka |url=https://www.globaldefensecorp.com/2022/08/22/bangladesh-dgfi-maintains-uyghur-styled-secret-detention-and-solitary-confinement-facility-in-dhaka/ |access-date=5 September 2024 |website=Global Defense Corp |language=en-US}}

On 14 August 2022, Netra News, a Sweden-based independent news portal, published an investigative whistleblower report alleging that Bangladesh officials were detaining and torturing victims of enforced disappearances at Aynaghar.

The Sweden-based news portal also revealed the possible location of the secret prison, where victims of enforced disappearances are believed to be held in Bangladesh. The detailed report by Netra News was based on the on-the-record accounts of two victims of enforced disappearances, Sheikh Mohammad Salim, a citizen of Kapasia of Gazipur and ex-captain of the Bangladesh Army Hasinur Rahman (Bir Protik) who say they were held inside the prison situated in the heart of Dhaka.

Photos of the prison cells were also published, which the news site claimed were provided by active-duty military officers.

After the Hasina regime fell in 2024, 500 to 700 cells were found in detention centres throughout the country. Investigators reported that the centres were run by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an elite counter-terrorism unit, acting on orders directly from Hasina.

At least one centre, next to Dhaka International Airport, with many tiny, dark cells had been bricked up to hide it after the regime fell. People were incarcerated sometimes for many years, and many are thought to have been killed.

In April 2025, the BBC published a detailed investigative report revealing the existence of a secret prison facility operated adjacent to Dhaka's international airport, allegedly used by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). The facility, discovered after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, contained small, pitch-dark cells hidden behind bricked-up walls. Former detainee Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem, a barrister who had been held there for eight years, led investigators to the site by recalling the sound of planes, confirming the proximity to the airport. Prosecutors described the existence of hundreds of similar cells nationwide, calling the network “widespread and systematic.” The investigation alleged that many enforced disappearances and acts of torture occurred at this and similar facilities under direct orders from the highest levels of the previous government.

It is alleged that the Counter-terrorism Intelligence Bureau (CTIB) of DGFI is responsible for the maintenance of the original Aynaghar. There are at least 16 rooms with the capacity of holding around 30 detainees at a time. The site is believed to be situated inside the Dhaka Cantonment area of Bangladesh.{{cite news |title=Bangladesh: Allow UN to Assist 'Disappearance' Inquiries |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/08/29/bangladesh-allow-un-assist-disappearance-inquiries|work=Human Rights Watch |date=29 August 2022 |language=en}}

Sheikh Hasina's regime was known for forced disappearances and torture of political opponents.{{Cite web |date=7 August 2024 |title=What is Aynaghar, Sheikh Hasina's house of horrors for political prisoners |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/aynaghar-aynaghor-sheikh-hasina-house-of-mirror-political-prisoners-bangladesh-protests-pm-forced-disappearances-2578386-2024-08-07 |access-date=5 September 2024 |website=India Today |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=GDC |date=12 August 2024 |title=Bangladesh replaces director general of infamous military intelligence agency DGFI for abduction, torture and disappearance of thousands of political prisoners |url=https://www.globaldefensecorp.com/2024/08/12/bangladesh-replaces-chief-of-infamous-military-intelligence-agency-dgfi-for-abduction-torture-and-disappearance-of-thousands-of-political-prisoners/ |access-date=5 September 2024 |website=Global Defense Corp |language=en-US}}

After Sheikh Hasina's departure from power, attention turned to Aynaghar and its prisoners. Sheikh Hasina, who had governed Bangladesh for 16 years, faced allegations of using repressive tactics against opposition leaders and critics. Accusations included arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, and violence.{{Cite web |last=GDC |date=13 August 2024 |title=Ousted Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina personally ordered political prisoners to be tortured and killed at DGFI's secret detention facility named 'Aynaghar' |url=https://www.globaldefensecorp.com/2024/08/13/ousted-bangladeshs-prime-minister-sheikh-hasina-personally-ordered-aynaghar-in-english-house-of-mirrors-in-bangladesh/ |access-date=5 September 2024 |website=Global Defense Corp |language=en-US}} Aynaghar was reported to have been a site where these actions allegedly took place, leading to widespread concern about human rights violations under her rule.{{Cite AV media |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/09/03/world/video/bangladesh-hasina-regime-coren-live-09031aseg2-cnni-world-fast |title=Bangladesh torture victims speak after regime's fall |date=4 September 2024 |last=Love |first=Allison |language=en |access-date=5 September 2024 |via=CNN}}{{Cite web |last=GDC |date=22 August 2024 |title=Bangladesh DGFI Operates Uyghur-style Secret Detention And Solitary Confinement Facilities In Dhaka |url=https://www.globaldefensecorp.com/2022/08/22/bangladesh-dgfi-maintains-uyghur-styled-secret-detention-and-solitary-confinement-facility-in-dhaka/ |access-date=5 September 2024 |website=Global Defense Corp |language=en-US}}

{{Incomplete list|date=February 2025}}

It is reported that the following individuals were detained at this facility:

• Mubashar Hasan, an academic and professor of North South University{{Cite web |title=Kin of Forcefully Disappeared People in Bangladesh Demand Answers |url=https://thediplomat.com/2023/06/kin-of-forcefully-disappeared-people-in-bangladesh-demand-answers/ |access-date=19 August 2024 |website=The Diplomat |language=en-US}}
• Maruf Zaman, former ambassador of Bangladesh to Vietnam{{Cite web |date=14 August 2024 |title=Secret prisoners of Dhaka |url=https://netra.news/2022/secret-prisoners-of-dhaka/ |access-date=19 August 2024 |website=Netra News — নেত্র নিউজ |language=en}}
• Aniruddha Kumar Roy, a businessman

Detainees who were released following the resignation of Sheikh Hasina:{{Cite web |last=Report |first=Star Digital |date=2024-08-06 |title=DGFI says update on 'Aynaghor' hostages tomorrow morning |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/dgfi-says-update-aynaghor-hostages-tomorrow-morning-3670651 |access-date=6 August 2024 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}}

• Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem, Bangladeshi barrister and son of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali, confirmed to have been held at a secret facility adjacent to Dhaka airport, according to a 2025 BBC investigation.
• Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, retired brigadier general and son of the Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ghulam Azam
• Michael Chakma, leader of United People's Democratic Front

On 11 September 2024, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, in his address to the nation marking the one-month anniversary of his administration, announced the signing of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.{{cite web|url=https://www.kalerkantho.com/online/national/2024/09/11/1424433|title=সব 'আয়নাঘর' বন্ধ করে দেওয়া হয়েছে : ড. ইউনূস|language=bn|date=11 September 2024|website=Kaler Kantho|access-date=27 September 2024}} He stated, {{Cquote|"With this signing, we are now internationally committed to ending the culture of disappearances that took root during the previous regime. In addition, we are establishing a dedicated commission to investigate every case of disappearance that occurred over the past 15 years."{{cite web|url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/358131/chief-adviser-govt-shut-down-%E2%80%98aynaghor%E2%80%99|title=Chief Adviser: Govt shut down 'Aynaghor'|date=11 September 2024|website=Dhaka Tribune|access-date=27 September 2024}}}} He expressed solidarity with the families who have endured years of anguish, waiting for answers about their missing loved ones, and confirmed that Aynaghar has been closed, with plans to release all detainees as soon as possible.{{cite web|url=https://jamuna.tv/news/562215|title='আয়নাঘর' বন্ধ করে দেয়া হয়েছে: প্রধান উপদেষ্টা|language=bn|date=11 September 2024|website=Jamuna Television|access-date=27 September 2024}}

File:July Revolution of Students graffiti at Shahbag area 05.jpg, Dhaka, following the ouster of Hasina, commemorating the captives held there, reading, "সব আয়না ভেঙে দাও" ({{literally|Break all the Mirrors{{efn|Referring to Aynaghar also known as the 'House of Mirrors'}}}})]]

The Netra News report came on the eve of UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet's four-day visit to Bangladesh, where she met with several ministers in Dhaka about widespread allegations of state-sanctioned disappearances. In a departure press conference on 17 August, the UN human rights chief stated that there are ongoing, alarming allegations of both short-term and long-term enforced disappearances, as well as concerns about a lack of due process and judicial safeguards, and urged the government to establish an impartial, independent, and transparent investigation into allegations of extrajudicial killing, torture, and enforced disappearances.{{cite news |title=UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet concludes her official visit to Bangladesh|url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2022/08/un-high-commissioner-human-rights-michelle-bachelet-concludes-her-official-visit|access-date=30 August 2022 |work=UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner |agency=UNOHCHR |date=17 August 2022}}

Meenakshi Ganguly of Human Rights Watch, in a statement urged the Bangladesh government "to take the first step toward accountability" by holding the perpetrators responsible for enforced disappearance. Bangladesh government officials during Hasina regime dismissed the claims regarding Aynaghar as false and concocted.

Mayer Daak, a platform of families of enforced disappearance victims, organised a rally in support of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet's call for an impartial, independent, and transparent investigation into allegations of enforced disappearance, extrajudicial killing, and torture during her visit to Bangladesh. Its convener, Sanjida Islam, criticised the DGFI for allegedly establishing a secret detention centre and demanded the immediate release of those detained.{{cite news |title=UN-supervised probe into rights abuse urged |url=https://www.newagebd.net/article/178976/un-supervised-probe-into-rights-abuse-urged |access-date=30 August 2022 |work= |agency=New Age (Bangladesh) |date=21 August 2022 |language=en}}{{cite news |title='Return my father's body, I want to hold him one last time' |url=https://www.justnewsbd.com/en/national/news/17475 |access-date=30 August 2022 |work=JustNewsBD |agency= |date=21 August 2022}}

The Daily Star suggested that there might be several other such torture and detention sites in various locations of the country.{{cite news |last1=Islam |first1=Zyma |title=Where do the 'disappeared' disappear to? |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/where-do-the-disappeared-disappear-3106341 |access-date=30 August 2022 |work=The Daily Star |date=30 August 2022 |language=en}}

• Enforced disappearances in Bangladesh
• Human rights in Bangladesh

• Guest room (Bangladesh)

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Category:Enforced disappearances in Bangladesh

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Category:Torture in Bangladesh

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Category:Premiership of Sheikh Hasina