government’s dismissal of criticism in response to allegations of rampant enforced disappearances. Freedom House’s Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report noted “a range of human rights abuses by law enforcement agencies – including enforced disappearances, custodial deaths, arbitrary arrests, and torture – have continued unabated.” In March the Centre for Governance Studies launched a report analyzing 71 cases of enforced disappearances between 2019 and 2021. According to the report, the RAB was responsible for 40 percent of the disappearances and the Detective Branch of the national police was responsible for 30 percent. The report claimed a third of the disappearance cases were from Dhaka, with most victims being politicians and businesspersons. Students made up 11 percent of the victims. In June the High Court suspended court proceedings against photojournalist and news editor Shafiqul Islam Kajol, who faced three charges that were first filed in 2020 under the Digital Security Act (DSA). Allegedly, the government forcibly detained Kajol in 2020 and did so incognito for 53 days. Kajol spent a total of 237 days in prison on defamation charges and was released on interim bail in December 2020. The June suspension of proceedings followed a primary hearing on three appeals made by Kajol. The cases were ongoing. In May the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances (WGEID) reviewed previously submitted cases of potential enforced disappearance. The UN body is investigating a total of 81 cases of enforced disappearance in the country. Earlier in the year, the WGEID noted the government provided information regarding some cases of enforced disappearance, but the WGEID did not consider that information sufficient to determine the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared persons. The WGEID reported receiving complaints regularly concerning disappearances, mostly relating to alleged disappearances of members of opposition political parties. c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and Other Related Abuses Although the constitution and law prohibit torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, local and international human rights Page 5