DHAKA, 17 August 2021, (TON): Human Rights Watch said in a report released that nearly 600 people have been forcibly disappeared by security forces since 2009.

Many turned up dead, some came back alive, and at least 86 still remain missing.

The 86 cases were identified and documented in the HRW report.

It said that those who turned up dead, had become victims of extrajudicial killings that are falsely claimed to be deaths during gunfights.

Meanwhile, those alive were released or produced in court after weeks or months of secret detention.

The report, based on more than 115 interviews between July 2020 and March 2021 with alleged victims, family members and witnesses, says authorities have consistently refused to investigate enforced disappearances or to hold those responsible accountable.

The global human rights watchdog urged the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada to take a number of steps, from economic sanctions to travel restrictions to banning the export of surveillance technology to Bangladesh.

The report said that the United Nations' Department of Peace Operations should sever all ties with any units and commanders found responsible for serious human rights abuses, including commanders who failed to prevent or punish abuses by individuals under their command.