Prisoners' rights
Tuesday, 5 June 2007
WE all know that inmates of prisons -- convicts, under trials as well as those who are in detention for an indefinite period are being huddled in the increasingly constricted spaces of the overcrowded prisons, without having regard for basic needs for human survival like reasonable space for lying down and sleeping and sanitation.
Perhaps we forget that the prisoners, too, have human rights. So many arrests have been made in the recent days, increasing the number of inmates in jails to an extent, much disportionate to their capacity. According to press reports, the situation in the prisons turned so terrible that the prisoners cannot move about in their cells properly, let alone lie down for sleeping and use toilets and bathrooms when necessary. A news paper quoted the IG of prisons as saying "inmates sleep in shifts and queue up for hours to use the lavatories and bathrooms."
We could come to know that in January 2000, about 60,000 prisoners were lodged in prisons which had capacity for 23,942. Six years later, in January 2006 when another elected government was in power, capacity expanded marginally but the number of prisoners jumped to 72,836.
So we understand that the conditions in prisons have only worsened. Prisoners now include the national-level political leaders. The treatment to prisoners must be improved. Respecting the rights of prisoners is a national and international obligation.
Zakir Ahmed
Central Road, Kalabagan, Dhaka
Perhaps we forget that the prisoners, too, have human rights. So many arrests have been made in the recent days, increasing the number of inmates in jails to an extent, much disportionate to their capacity. According to press reports, the situation in the prisons turned so terrible that the prisoners cannot move about in their cells properly, let alone lie down for sleeping and use toilets and bathrooms when necessary. A news paper quoted the IG of prisons as saying "inmates sleep in shifts and queue up for hours to use the lavatories and bathrooms."
We could come to know that in January 2000, about 60,000 prisoners were lodged in prisons which had capacity for 23,942. Six years later, in January 2006 when another elected government was in power, capacity expanded marginally but the number of prisoners jumped to 72,836.
So we understand that the conditions in prisons have only worsened. Prisoners now include the national-level political leaders. The treatment to prisoners must be improved. Respecting the rights of prisoners is a national and international obligation.
Zakir Ahmed
Central Road, Kalabagan, Dhaka