Find killers of labour activist, Dhaka told

The Bangladeshi government should publicly explain what efforts have been made to investigate the abduction, torture, and killing of the labour rights activist Aminul Islam two years ago, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.

While police have filed charges against a missing suspect, there have been no apparent efforts to investigate allegations that members of Bangladeshi security forces were part of the conspiracy to kill the labour activist, it said.

Islam, 39, was a trade union organizer with the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity, which supports the rights of factory workers in the garment and seafood industries.

He disappeared April 4, 2012. His body was discovered two days later, almost 100 km from where he was last seen, and showed signs of torture under circumstances that raise concerns of involvement by Bangladeshi security forces.

Given Bangladesh's long history of impunity in its security forces, the Bangladeshi authorities should establish an independent body to lead the investigation into Islam's death, Human Rights Watch said.