'Aynaghor': Shocking Tales From Sheikh Hasina's Secret Prison For Dissenters

Disturbing revelations have surfaced regarding secret prisons in Bangladesh, where dissidents of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to New Delhi following the dramatic collapse of her government in August, are reportedly detained.

A report by The New York Times has highlighted accounts from several victims who were forcibly abducted, providing insight into the so-called "Aynaghor" or "House of Mirrors."

Photo Credit: PTI

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Since 2009, under the Hasina-led Awami League government, hundreds of individuals were allegedly kidnapped by security forces for their dissenting views.

Human rights organisations estimate that more than 700 people were forcibly disappeared between 2009 and 2024, though the actual number may be even higher. These organisations have also noted that government harassment made it difficult to properly document the cases.

The New York Times reported that approximately 450 of those known to have disappeared were eventually released, sometimes after months or years of captivity, with strict instructions to remain silent. Around 80 were killed, and their bodies returned to their families, while roughly 150 victims remain unaccounted for.

Prisoners allege torture

Maroof Zaman, a former Bangladeshi ambassador to Qatar and Vietnam, who was held in the prison for 467 days before reappearing in 2019, claimed the House of Mirrors was located within a military garrison in Dhaka.

He based this assertion on the discipline and precision displayed by the guards, as well as the sounds of morning parades he could hear from his cell. "Every Friday, you could hear the children singing," Zaman told The New York Times.

According to the report, the facility featured long corridors with half a dozen rooms facing away from one another. Each cell had a large exhaust fan, intended to drown out the guards' conversations and to further mentally torment the prisoners.

The New York Times stated that the prison's design was intended to inflict psychological torture on the inmates. In addition to this mental anguish, physical torture was also inflicted during interrogations, particularly in the early stages of captivity. Regular medical check-ups were conducted, and inmates received haircuts every four to six months.

Zaman told the New York Times that during interrogations, he was hooded and repeatedly punched in the face. His interrogators showed him printed copies of his social media posts and blog entries, questioning him about specific paragraphs.

"We spent so much money printing your posts. Will your father give us all this money back?" the interrogators would taunt.

Another inmate, Abdullahil Amaan Azmi, a former army general who was detained in the House of Mirrors due to his father's position as a senior Islamist leader, revealed that during his eight years in captivity, he had been blindfolded and handcuffed 41,000 times.

"I did not see God's sky, the sun, the grass, the moon, the trees," Azmi told the newspaper.

"There is no language in which I can explain the humiliation and pain I felt," he added, stating that he often prayed for a dignified death during his time at the facility.