Prison System in Bangladesh

Introduction

Prison is a correctional institution where persons are confined while on trial or for punishment. Historically the prisons of Bangladesh are primarily concerned with punishing offenders through incarceration. Bangladesh is far behind in conforming to international standards for prisons. It has not yet been able to implement all the recommended reforms. Bangladesh is committed to treat "all persons deprived of liberty with humanity and with respect for the in-herent dignity of the human person.” Bangladesh is also committed to segregating under-trial prisoners from convicts and juveniles from adults, to bring prisoners as early as possible to trial, and to ensure humane treatment of all persons in custody. The UN Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners provides guidelines for the fair treatment of prisoners and the management of prisons. It requires states to observe the fundamental principles of security of life, health and personal integrity, non-discrimination in the treatment of prisoners, and to create conditions that allow prisoners on release to adjust and integrate into normal community life. It further requires the jail administration to respect prisoners’ right to information regarding jail regulations, as well as rights to religious belief and communication with the family, and to notify the family of a prisoner's death on illness.

Background of Bangladesh Prison

The exiting prison system of the country was introduced by the British rulers. It came into being as a weapon of control and suppression to protect the colonial interest of the British rulers. It was never designed as an institution for correction. In course of time the colonial rulers felt the necessity to bring some reforms, but that also was limited mostly in the management aspects than in the system itself. A series of prison reform committees were formed in 1836, 1864, 1889 and 1892. The recommendations of these committees were consolidated in 1894 and later in 1900 it appeared as the first ever Prisons Act of the region. In line with this Act the first ever jail reform took place in 1937. The present Jail Code of 1864 is in fact the compilation of orders, internal circular and notifications issued from time to time since 1863.

The laws governing Bangladesh prisons, namely-

the Prison Act of 1894, its accompanying Rules, and a range of internally issued circulars, notices and orders

Jail Code of 1920; The Civil Procedure Code,1908 the Penal Code 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, the Lunacy Act 1912 and the Children's Act 1974 The Special Power Act,1974

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Types of prisons

There are eighty prisons in Bangladesh of which nine are central jails, fifty-five are district jails and sixteen jails are in upazilla level (Upazilla jails are defunct). Apart from these formal prisons, vagrant homes and juvenile correction centers are the extended forms of prisons. At present there are six vagrant “homes” and two correction centres in the country run under the control and supervision of the Department of Social Services. People apprehended by police on different grounds of vagrancy etc and alleged juvenile offenders are kept in these institutions until their legal guardians are found or terms of detention is over or are “properly rectified”.

There are nine central Jails in Bangladesh-

1. Dhaka Central Jail Dhaka Central Jail Unit-1,Kashimpur,Gazipur, Dhaka Central Jail Unit-2,Kashimpur,Gazipur Dhaka Central Jail Unit-3,Kashimpur,Gazipur

2. Chittagong Central Jail3. Mymensing Central Jail4. Rajshahi Central Jail5. Comilla Central Jail6. Jessore Central Jail7. Sylhet Central Jail8. Barisal Central Jail9. Rangpur Central Jail

The 80 prisons in Bangladesh can be divided into two major types:-

Central Jails- Central Jails are for the confinement of prisoners under trial, administrative detainees and convicted prisoners sentenced to a term of imprisonment, including imprisonment for life, and the death sentence. There are nine such central jails, which could also be called maximum-security prisons.

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District Jails- District Jails located at the headquarters of the district, are used for the confinement of all categories of prisoners, except those convicted prisoners whose sentence exceeds 5 years. District jails also hold long-term convicted prisoners if ordered by the Inspector General of Prisons/Deputy Inspector General of Prisons. There are 55 such district jails, which could be called "medium security prisons."

There are other two kinds of Jails in Bangladesh

Sub Jails- Sub Jails are located at the administrative headquarter of a sub-division. They mainly hold the under trial prisoners and short term convicted prisoners. The design capacity ranges from 70 to 200.

Thana jails-In addition to central and district jails, there are 16 Thana jails, known as "detention houses," located at 16 Thana headquarters. If Thana jails are included, there are some 80 jails in Bangladesh.

Prison Administration

The Ministry of Home Affairs, through the Directorate of Prisons, exercises overall responsibility for proper management of the prison system. One Inspector General works as the chief of Bangladesh called IG prison. There is also a post of additional Inspector General each prison is administered by sergeants, guards and other prison staff, under the supervision of the Superintendent of Jails. In the districts, the highest civilian official, the Deputy Commissioner, oversees the working of the jails, and is expected, along with district judicial officers, to visit the jails to supervise their management and receive complaints, if any, from the prisoners. Health services to them are provided by the staff of the district hospital.

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The hierarchy of Prison Administration

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Inspector General of Prison

Additional Inspector General of Prison

Deputy Inspector General of Prison

Deputy Jailor

Senior Jail Super

Jailor

Jail Superintendent

Junior Consultant

Assistant Jail Inspector

Sub-Jail Superintendent

Metron

Jail Guard

Chief Jail Guard

Sergeant Instructor

Structure

Most of the buildings providing accommodation for prisoners were built during the British period. Due to cracked rooftop, old electric wiring and inadequate sanitation facilities, these buildings have become risky for the prisoners to live in.

Capacity versus Prisoners when it established first

Jail Established CapacityNumber of Prisoners

Dhaka 1788 2500 12000 Chittagong 1885 1047 4700 Mymensing 1887 725 3000

 Source :( Justice for Children, Annual Report 2001)

The government has recently established a new jail in Kashimpur of Gazipur to reduce the pressure on the over-crowded Dhaka Central Jail, on 120 acres of land with the capacity of 2000 male and 300 female prisoners. Some 200 prisoners have already been transferred to Kashimpur jail. Constructions of new jails are also in progress in the new districts.

Capacity

All the jails in Bangladesh can accommodate a total of twenty four thousand five hundred and thirty eight (24, 538) prisoners. In an estimate (in 2001) a total of sixty four thousand eight hundred and ninety (64,890) prisoners were staying in the jails which means the number of prisoners in the jail is three times higher than the actual capacity. Of them 1,827 are women, 1029 are children, including 129 girl children. In 1991 the figure was only forty thousand. In the last one decade the number of total prisoners has increased by twenty one thousand whereas the capacity of the jails increased only by about three thousand. In 2001, a survey was conducted in different jails to find out the actual number of women and their children living in the jails against the capacity of the jails.

Women and Children living in different jails in 2001.

Jail Accommodation for women Number of Women and Children

Comilla               22 78 +12 Children

Rajshahi               41 80+5 Children

Dhaka               84 400+18 Children

Chittagong               17 90+10 Children

Source:(Justice For Children, Annual Report 2001)

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According to a government order (order no.942), women prisoners are allowed to keep their children with them up to four years of age but it could be extended up to 6 years with the permission of the respective superintendent of jail. Children with their mother usually remain uncounted, as they are not subject to receive any material support from the jail. Keeping the children with the convicted and under trial prisoners is very common when even keeping the adult convicted and under trial together is prohibited by rule (Jail Code -Rule 616 and 910).

Month/Year capacity Number of PrisonersJanuary 2001 23,942 60,887 January 2002 24,997 62,486 January 2003 25,018 75,135 January 2004 25,396 69,519 January 2005 26,157 74,710 January 2006 27,112 72,836 January 2007 27,254 68,278 May 2007 27,254 85,941 July 2008 27,451 87,011

Source: The Daily Jugantor, 4 July 2008.

Most dreadful fact is that the children and adolescents have to stay with notorious under trial terrorists and drug addicts. Statistics show that there are children and adult who remain under trial for more than five years when the alleged offence only deserve an imprisonment of only 2/3 years.

Classification of Prisoners

Prisoners are divided into three categories

Division I Division II Division III

Division I and Division II inmates- Division I and Division II inmates are person who “by social status”, education and habit of life have been accustomed to superior living standards”(Bengal jail code,1937,page-313).

Division III inmatesThe third category is a residual category consisting of “prisoners who are not classified in first or second division”(Bengal jail code,1937,page-313).Political prisoners are another class and generally receive better treatment in the jails. Political prisoners according to Bengal jail code are those who have been convicted of an offense committed with political motive rather than more common pecuniary offence. Division III prisoners are further divided into “star class” and “ordinary class”. The star class is comprised of convicts who are first time offenders.

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In general, the division and the political prisoner are the most privileged class in the jail. The daily and the weekly newspapers are supplied to the division prisoners from a government approved list and subject to censorship. They are allowed more visiting time with relatives and friends. Ordinary prisoners are not entitled to have a newspaper

Living Conditions of Prisoners

Accommodation

The living conditions of prisoners in jails are unhygienic. Two types of accommodation are available in prisons: cell accommodation and accommodation in association wards/dormitories.

Cell accommodation-This is for accommodation of classified prisoners, execution of jail punishment, segregation of confessed prisoners, and prisoners condemned to death.

Association wards- For all types of prisoners, including hardened criminals, occasional offenders, and youth offenders. Prisoner’s are required to sleep together in single dormitories, accommodating about 100 to 150 prisoners.. Moreover, floor space allocation bears witness to the poor conditions in which prisoners are kept. Under dormitory rules, each prisoner disentitled to 36 sq. ft. of floor space; however, overcrowding has reduced the space available per prisoner to 15 sq. ft. In certain wards, prisoners have to sleep in shifts owing to lack of space.

Education and recreation

Recently government has introduced compulsory primary education in all jails of Bangladesh. Besides there is a provision for appointing teacher on short term for Muslim's to give religious teaching in all jails. Prisoners who want to pursue formal education have to bring books from outside. No arrangement for children's recreation is available there.

Food

According to the Code each convicted prisoner is supposed to get 250 gm (5 chatak) of rice, 125 gm of roti while the persons in lock up will get 200gm (4 chatak) of rice, 87 gm roti everyday. Apart from these, prisoners are supposed to get 133 gm of vegetables and 72 gm of fish or /meat. Whatever they receive is very scanty and sub standard. They get fish/meat once a week and for breakfast (at 8:00 am) a piece of hard bread and some molasses. In the afternoon they get rice, vegetable and pulse (at 12:00 noon). Supper is served at 4:00 pm. Food poisoning in very common in the jail. On June 22, 2001, 300 prisoners in Jessore jail were attacked by severe diarrhea. As mentioned earlier, the situation is reverse for those who can pay. Again children are more vulnerable in such situation.

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Following is the menu for children as per law:

1. Neo natal- below 12 months as much milk required

2.12- 18 months- milk 300gm(6 chatak), rice 100gm(2 chatak), and pulse 25gm3.18-24 months- milk 300gm (6 chatak), rice 200gm (4 chatak) and pulse 25gm

Dress and cosmetic

Each prisoner is entitled to get a plate, dish, glass, and three coarse sheets - one for using as pillow, one for bed sheet and another for wrapping body. Everyone has to sleep without mosquito net. During the winter no additional clothes are provided. Only the convicted prisoners are entitled to dress. Each convicted male gets 2 shirts, 2 pajamas, 2 towels and a cap whereas each woman gets 2 saris, and 2 blouses. A small amount of oil and ½ of soap is distributed every week. Most distressed are vagrant boys and girls.

Meeting the Relatives

The privilege of having visitors or of visiting one’s own family is very much restricted. Inmates are not allowed to have conjugal or family visits under any circumstances. Prison authorities do sometimes grant a short furlough for a few hours to the division 1 prisoner for emergency occasions, such as a death in the immediate family. Visitors from approved family are allowed at specific inter

The relatives of the prisoners can meet the prisoners thrice a week by paying Tk 2 for every visit. There are allegations that such meeting can be arranged any time by bribing the prison officials.

Programmes in Jails

There is no counseling or therapy provided in jails. Inmates do not have access to telephones and law libraries. There are no day rooms, exercise area or dinning facilities for the inmates. Written correspondence with family and outside is very limited. Ordinary prisoners can write one letter in a month, division prisoners can write twice in a month. But in reality some poor and illiterate inmates cannot take this advantage

Jail industry and jail labor

According to the system prisoners sentenced to rigorous imprisonment have to render their labor in the jail for the production of different items. There are about 42 kinds of fixed trades in the jails. Among them production of oil from oil seeds by hand mill, quilt making, leather products making, cooking, shoe polishing are common. New trades have been added like bookbinding. In the past prisoners revolted against the system of sending them as domestic helps in the private house of the jail officers.

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There are certain jobs, which are earmarked for the children. They are:

1. Watering trees/ Gardening

2. Shoe polishing

3. Grass cutting for the Cattle of the officers

4. Entertaining (!) officers / Adult Prisoners

5. Domestic Helpers

Since 1972 about 25 revolts took place in different jails. In most cases government has controlled them with iron hands. According to government estimate about 25-90 people were killed, who are quite young in age. Jail revolt makes children and women more vulnerable, because in many occasions they are taken as hostages. Forced hunger strike is not new in the jail. This also brings immense sufferings for the children and women.

Health Facilities in Prison

Over the years, the steady rise in the prison population has not been accompanied by any initiative to set up new hospitals or to improve health care facilities in existing jail hospitals. According to the DIG (Prisons), "Not only the general prisoners, every one in jails suffers because of the shortage of doctors and other health care facilities".Reportedly there are only 16 doctors against 77 posts to look after about 90,000 inmates in jails all over the country. Hospital facilities are available in twelve prisons only and the remaining prisons lack any such health service facilities; none of these hospitals has an ambulance for emergency transport. Usually, these hospital beds are occupied by rich and powerful prisoners; so that other prisoners in serious condition are denied access to appropriate treatment. On the other hand, the VIP prisoners get extra priority and advantages in treatment; they even occupy all beds for prisoners available in specialized prison wings of Government hospitals. Most of their prison time in hospital bed. The Inspector General of Prisons said, “There is a tendency of ailing high profile prisoners to get hospitalized and stay there as long as possible. It was also revealed that in many cases the doctors concerned at hospitals let them prolong their stay citing various made-up causes and excuse.” (Source: The Daily Jugantor, 9 October 2008.“Karagare baithoker roshoshsho ummochon shiggire” Shamokal, 1 September 2008. Inqilab, 24 April 2008. )

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Problems in Bangladesh Prison

It is noted that prisons still follow the outdated statute books of the British colonial rulers, which were framed in the 19th century. According to these old statutes, the main objective of the prison system was the confinement and safe custody of prisoners through suppressive and punitive measures. There has been no significant modification in the jail code, nor have the vital recommendations of the Jail Reform Commission been implemented. A full transformation of this punitive system is required in order to stop violation of the legal rights and human security of prisoners, as guaranteed by Article 44 of the Constitution.

The recruitment and training procedures of prison officers and staff under existing rules and procedures are insufficient for the needs of prisoners. Prison services in most developed countries are considered to be quite advanced as correction officers are educating offenders, as part of the effort to facilitate the reform and eventual reintegration of prisoners into society. This contrasts with the prison system in Bangladesh, which is geared towards containment and punishment of prisoners, and does not facilitate their reform. Hence, prison officers and staff are not recruited with appropriate skills nor trained adequately to encourage reform. Thus the main problems are as follows:

* Inadequate medical facilities inside prisons.* Lack of monitoring of prisons.* Lack of welfare measures and reform programmes.* Corruption in tendering contracts and interviews.* Inadequate attention to women and child prisoners.* Inadequate vocational training facilities.

Over Crowding

Over crowding continues to be a chronic problem in Bangladesh prisons, and is a major cause of poor prison conditions. In the recent past, overcrowding of prisons has worsened significantly. Although there are 80 jails in the country, 16 of these are not yet functioning. And whereas the official capacity in the remaining 64 jails is 21,581 prisoners, the actual prison population was about 46,444. Of these, 31,020 were under trial, i.e. detained prior to conviction, while only 13,178 (less than one third) were convicted prisoners.

Year Registered capacity

Actual population

Convicts Detainees

1993 20,980 41,618 15,058 823

1994 21,247 41,861 15,564 981

1995 21,247 42,768 15,705 1,251

1996 21,581 43,095 12,714 1,334

1997 21,581 45,443 13,078 1,345Source: Human Security In Prisons: The Quest For Protection And Reform Of Prisoners

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Under trial prisoners include those waiting for trial and those whose trials are in progress

Hence, overcrowding of prisons is due mostly to the large number of prisoners awaiting-trail. This is considered to be one of the main causes of human security violations in Bangladesh. In January 2008, the total number of prisoners stood at about 78,000 against a capacity of 26,000 only. This number exceeded 86,000 in June when the capacity had increased up to 27,368.Prisoners, even women prisoners; have to sleep in shifts due to shortage of sleeping space. The Dhaka Central Jail has above Prison population between January 2001 to July 2008

Month/Year capacity Number of Prisoners January 2001 23,942 60,887 January 2002 24,997 62,486 January 2003 25,018 75,135 January 2004 25,396 69,519 January 2005 26,157 74,710 January 2006 27,112 72,836 January 2007 27,254 68,278 May 2007 27,254 85,941 July 2008 27,451 87,011

Source: The Daily Jugantor, 4 July 2008.

10,000 inmates, three times more than its actual capacity of 2,682 only.5 The Chittagong Central Jail accommodated 6,468 prisoners, against a capacity of 1,507 only. The usual overcrowding were exacerbated by the sudden jump in ‘mass arrests’. Reportedly between 28 May-12 June, on average some 1,698 persons were arrested every day, compared to 1,291 in May-June 2007. The consequent over crowding, and scarcity of food space and facilities has encouraged further corruption and malpractice in the jail administration. Reportedly the prison authority terminated at least 130 prison staff to control corruption.

Bangladesh has a capacity of holding 28,394 prisoners in all its prisons. With 83,136 inmates in these prisons, the occupancy ratio is 292 per cent. Overcrowding is obviously more acute in Dhaka Central Jail, as with a capacity of 2,682 inmates, it currently occupied by 11,014 prisoners. This is 410 per cent of the prescribed habitation. The other 66 prisons outside Dhaka have a current occupancy ratio of 280 per cent, where 72,122 people are living in a space for 25,712 people. For the prisoners ordained to die, there are 61 cells in the country. The occupancy ratio of these cells is 14 per cell in Dhaka, and 10 per similar cells in the country's other prisons.(Source: Hasanat Alamgir and Habibur Rahman,the Daily Star,June13,2004)

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Delays in Judicial Proceedings

Delayed processing of criminal cases is mainly due to (a) a backlog of cases in which bails are not granted; (b) non-attendance of wit-nesses on the date of the hearing; (c) unnecessary adjournment; (d) delays in completing investigations; (e) acute shortage of judges and magistrates; (f) tendency of lawyers and par-ties to delay trials; and (g) lack of vigilance on the part of judges and magistrates (as agreed by learned judges, magistrates and eminent lawyers).The categories of crimes for which prisoners are accused in prison are illustrated in Table

Categories of crimes for which prisoners are accused

Sl. No. Nature of crime Male Female Total Per cent

1. Possession of illegal arms

5,344 33 5,377 12

2. Murder 10,654 350 11,004 24

3. Dacoit anddacoit with

murder

6,605 38 6,646 15

4. Cruelty to women and

children

4,141 399 4,540 10

5. Theft and others 17,202 678 17,880 39

Total 43,946 1,498 45,447 100

Source: Human Security In Prisons: The Quest For Protection And Reform Of Prisoners

Unhygienic Living Conditions Of Prisoners

The living conditions of prisoners in jails are unhygienic. This is due to overcrowding of the prisons with the large numbers of“undertrials”. Two types of accommodation are available in prisons: cell accommodation and accommodation in association wards/dormitories.

Cell accommodation-This is for accommodation of classified prisoners, execution of jail punishment, segregation of confessed prisoners, and prisoners condemned to death.

Association wards- For all types of prisoners, including hardened criminals, occasional offenders, and youth offenders. Prisoners are required to sleep together in single dormitories, accommodating about 100 to 150 prisoners. Hardened criminals influence occasional Categories of crimes for which prisoners are accused youth

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offenders who form gangs within the prisons, mostly with a view to committing serious crimes after they are released. Hence jails have become “storehouses” to train criminals. Moreover, floor space allocation bears witness to the poor conditions in which prisoners are kept. Under dormitory rules, each prisoner disentitled to 36 sq. ft. of floor space; however, overcrowding has reduced the space available per prisoner to 15 sq. ft. In certain wards, prisoners have to sleep in shifts owing to lack of space. Finally, life in prisons is made worse byte smells of carbon dioxide, nicotine, sweat, and urine emerging from uncovered urinals, which create an unsanitary atmosphere inside the congested wards. These are painful ex-amplest of the denial of the legal rights of in-mates. Prisoners’ foodThere are two kinds of diets for inmates. Or-denary prisoners receive 2,800 to 3,000 calories per day, which is considered satisfactory by the Institute of Public Health Nutrition. However, so-called “classified prisoners” receive an additional amount of food. The existence of this privileged class of prisoner creates dissatisfaction among ordinary inmates. Furthermore, the manner in which the prisoners are required to eat their meals—sitting on the ground under the open sky, rain or shine, is unacceptable.

Low Facility in Clothing and bedding

The current striped, coarse uniform worn by ordinary prisoners is considered most demoralizing. A bed consists of two blankets, one to spread on the floor, and another to use as pillow. This is both inadequate and degrading. Such conditions are detrimental to prisoners’ physical and mental health, and in violation of their human rights.

Outdated Prison Laws and Rules

It is noted that prisons still follow the outdated statute books of the British colonial rulers that were framed in the 19th century Ac-cording to these old statutes, the main objective of the prison system was the confinement and safe custody of prisoners through suppressive and punitive measures. There has been no significant modification in the jail code, nor have the vital recommendations of the Jail Reform Commission been implemented. A full transformation of this punitive system is required in order to stop violations of the legal rights and human security of prisoners, as guar-anteed by Article 44 of the Constitution.

Inadequate Medical Facilities inside Prisons

There is no medical staff within the Directorate of Prisons to provide medical services in jails. Medical staffs currently are “borrowed” from the Ministry of Health and consequently often refuse to follow instructions from prison officers to ensure the efficient running of prison hospitals, causing serious setbacks with respect to adequate medical treatment of ailing prisoners. This creates dissatisfaction among prisoners, as well as disciplinary problems for the administration. There are no paid nurses in the hospitals. Literate convicts work as hospital attendants without training. There are no doctors available at night to attend to emergency cases and no women doctors or nurses to at-tend to female patients in the female sections of jails. Male doctors attend to female patients, thus exposing these women to possible sexual abuse or violence. This is considered to be serious violation of women’s rights, as guaranteed in the

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Constitution. In addition, the number of doctors is quite disproportionate to the size of the prison population. No pathological, radiological, or cardio logical facilities are available in the prisons. A very predictable result of overcrowding, malnutrition, unhygienic conditions, and absence of medical care is the spread of contagious diseases, often leading to premature disability and deaths in prisons. Tuberculosis continues to devastate prison populations around the world, and there is no reason why its havoc should be any different in Bangladesh. Sick inmates carrying virulent pathogens, infect other new prisoners, and constitute a serious threat to public health when they are released. It is important to keep a prisoner with a contagious disease in quarantine, or in a separate cell.

Lack of Monitoring of Prisons

District magistrates and/or deputy commissioners are required to visit the jails once a week under rule 48 of the Jail Code, vol. 1. How-ever, they seldom perform this duty, thus al-lowing serious violations of prison rules by prison officers to go undetected. This can lead to discipline problems in the jails, potentially leading to insecurity throughout the country. The judicial authorities concerned often fail to perform their duties. This causes delays in the disposal of long-pending cases, which remain undetected, denying prisoners their rights to put forward grievances to the relevant magistrates or judges, and to end prolonged detention without trial. The irregularity of monitoring visits can be detrimental to the rights of prisoners. It is also evident that complaints against prison staff from prisoners to inspecting officers and visitors often result in mal-treatment, thus worsening the conditions imprison even further. Hence, few prisoners currently dare to complain to inspecting officers or visitors.

Lack of Welfare Measures and Reform Programmes

Welfare measures for the benefit of prisoners are extremely inadequate. There are no trained social welfare officers in prisons to investigate physical aspects such as food, clothing, medical care, sanitation, and water supply within the prisons. There are no trained social workers or psychologists to provide for the psychological needs of prisoners. The use of corporal punishment, such as hand-cuffing and the use of fetters, shows that the concepts of punitive treatment and physical repression are deeply rooted in the system. During discussions with prison officials, it should be noted that most were in favor of using fetters in case of breaches of prison rules, as well as to restrain prisoners. It should be mentioned that there are no programmes in Bangladesh’s prisons for the reform and rehabilitation of offenders. These contribute to the rising crime rate, since most prisoners return to society, not as reformed individuals, but as hardened criminals. This is caused in part by the absence of adequate training for prison officers and staff. Internal assessment procedures for the promotion of officers and staff are also lacking, which leaves the administration of prisons in the hands of untrained and inefficient officers and staff. This can be cited as one of the main reasons for the mismanagement of prisons and the denial of legal rights to prisoners.

Corruption in Tendering, Contracts and Interviews

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There are two committees, one for the selection of tenders and the other for acceptance of tenders, composed of department officers (under governmental executive order). The committee for selection of tenders is headed by the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Prisons; he meets concerned parties at the various jails biannually for selection. But ten-dears are accepted centrally by the Inspector General of Prisons, with the help of a commit-tee formed with his officers at the prison directorate. It is felt that selection and acceptance of tenders by department officers can promote corruption. The existing interview system is also inadequate and open to corruption. At present one interview per month is granted to an ordinary convict. Corrupt practices prevail among certain classes of officers in granting interviews to inmates.

Inadequate Protection of Women and Child Prisoners

The confinement of male and female prisoners in the same jail without separate areas is harmful to women who are more easily subjected to physical and sexual abuse. Serious violations have occurred in the past, such ass Khulna Jail, during the 1980s. In addition, the practice of male prisoners cooking and serving food to female prisoners is also open to abuse by the male prisoners. There are about 257 children below the age of 16 under trial in various prisons of the country. Of these, about 100 children are detained in Dhaka Central Jail. From the available statistics, we gather than some 5,500 adolescent convicted prisoners between the ages of 16 to21 are confined in various jails of the country. They are exposed to serious contamination by the adults in the jails meant for all classes of prisoners.

Inadequate Vocational Training Facilities

Vocational training programmes currently available in prisons include barber shop training, laundry work, woodwork, metalwork, car-pet and cloth weaving, and wool knitting. How-ever, these programmes are not sufficiently developed to cater for all classes of prisoners. Activities are allotted to prisoners by the jailer without any consideration of skills, whereas these should be assigned under supervision of the superintendent to reduce the risk of corruption. Government projects Growing awareness of the problems identified above has led the Government to adopt the following projects to improve the state of prisons .When these projects are completed, the over-crowding problem will be eased to some ex-tent, and a more congenial atmosphere will be created for reform activities, by way of ex-tending vocational, religious and academic training facilities to inmates. It may also be possible to grant some monetary remuneration to working convicts in the newly expanded industries for their future rehabilitation. Some NGOs and businesses are already assisting released offenders by providing them with employment for their re-socialization. Financial support for the new and additional projects will be made available from government agencies and international

Prison Violence

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In general it is hoped that whatever inhuman environment exists in jails lives are secured there. But in jails of Bangladesh prisoners have not only been attacked and injured but also killed in the hands of terrorist prisoners. The terrorist prisoners in jails abuse children and adolescents every now and then.

Violence is common at the prisons. Inmate-on-inmate violence is an unsurprising result of official slackness. By neglecting to take charge of the inmates within their facilities, by failing to act in response to incidences of violence, by wickedly allowing the entry of armaments into the prisons, and by generally abetting the domination of the strongest prisoners over the weakest, prison authorities are directly liable for the violence.

Extortion by prison staff and corruption of the guards is common. Given the extensive power that prison guards exercise over inmates, these problems are obvious. The poorly paid guards try to complement their regular earnings by exploiting the prisoners as bait for their friends and relatives. In exchange for smuggled goods or special attention and treatment, inmates supplement guards' salaries with bribes. Powerful and rich inmates often enjoy rich diets and comfortable lodgings, while their less opportune brethren live in nastiness. It is alleged that some criminals, in collaboration with the prisons guards, keep on operating and networking their gang activities outside while being locked up inside the prisons.

Deaths in Prison

According to ASK documentation, 61 prisoners including 37 under trial prisoners died in jail or in jail hospitals up to 30 September, 2008(Jugantor, 4 July 2008. 22 “Moulvibazar Jail Turns into a Rectification Centre”, New Age, 10 April 2008. 23 “Factory opens inside Dhaka jail to rehabilitate prisoners”, The Daily Star, 4 November 2008.) . According to the prison authorities, many died from sickness. It was reported that at least 49 prisoners were admitted into Dhaka Central jail hospital with serious injuries and wounds but failed to get required urgent treatment outside the prison. Besides the deaths for various causes, two convicts were hanged to death upto November this year and one convict (who was a freedom fighter) sentenced for hanging was pardoned by the President just a few hours before his execution at the personal request by the Army Chief of Staff.

Prison Vans: another instrument of punishment and abuse

In Dhaka there are nine prison vans for transporting prisoners to and from the court. On an average at least two of them remain out of order. About 600 under trial prisoners come from jail and another 600 come from 21 police stations of the capital city daily. Each van can carry only twenty-five prisoners at a time, which means these seven vans would require two days to bring all these prisoners to the court and take them back. To cover the time prisoners are brought to the court inhumanly in the overcrowded prison vans. In such a situation separate room for women and children in the prison van is unthinkable.

Recommendations and Reform Agenda

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Outdated laws and procedures concerning prisons should be amended to institute a more humane and sophisticated approach. It is important to promote the concepts of prison reform and the protection of human rights and security of prisoners based on the evidence that such treatment is more effective than retributive treatment. This is particularly true for vulnerable groups such as children and women. So speedy implementation of the recommendation of the Bangladesh Jails Reform Commission Report of 1980 in order to reform the current punitive emphasis of treatment in Bangladesh prisons is imperative.

1. It is recommended that there should be separate prisons for female prisoners, near the larger central and district jails. The Prison Directorate should have its own medical services, with doctors who are interested in providing medical services in prisons as a career, to be recruited by the Ministry of Home Affairs through the Public Service Commission. Pathological, radiological and cardiological personnel and facilities should be made available in jail hospitals. There should be one part-time cardiologist with a technician for each central jail and complicated cases from the district jails could be transferred to the central jails for diagnostic tests and treatment; one well-equipped operation theatre for minor operations should be at every central jail.

2. Patients with complex cases should be sent to external hospital for specialized treatment. There should be separate segregated wards in prison hospitals to treat prisoners suffering from infectious diseases and drug addiction. The required number of modern appliances (X-ray, ECG, and reagents) should be procured from the central medical store or other sources. Facilities for the specialized treatment and major operations of ailing prisoners as existing in many developed countries, as well as in some developing countries, should be made easily available (such as postgraduate (PG) prison annex)

The following initiatives should be taken for medical facilities in prison

a. Improvement in the prison laboratory facilitiesb. Perform culture sampling of suspected cases which have negative

sputum  microscopy results

c. Improve prison x-ray facilities (for AFB -ve suspected cases)d. Prisoner education/motivation (TB signs/symptoms, stop spitting,

regular  anti-TB drug intake)

e. Develop proper referral system post jail releasef. Strengthening TB control programme in other jails of country

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3. Better monitoring of the performance of prison staff should be undertaken in order to remove anomalies existing in prison administration. Formal complaint mechanisms for prisoners are recommended to reduce human security violations. The system of visits should be improved so that it provides checks and balances to the administration of prisons. There is a need to increase the capacity of the police to cope with improved techniques adopted by criminals and the alarming rise in crime rates.

4. Better monitoring of the performance of prison staff should be undertaken in order to remove anomalies existing in prison administration.

5. Formal complaint mechanisms for prisoners are recommended to reduce human security violations. All prisoners should have access to court proceedings, Prisoners should also be allowed to send complaints against prison officials directly to the Ministry of Home Affairs, without censorship by jail authorities to obtain redress of grievances and stop security violations inside prisons.

6. The system of visits should be improved so that it provides checks and balances on the administration of prisons. Vulnerable groups should be able to put forward their grievances to visitors for redress. Visitors should have free access to all classes of prisoners, except political prisoners. This will enable visitors to hear complaints from prisoners on possible security violations by prison officer’s guards, and to take them up directly with the Ministry of Home Affairs.

7. The conditions for prison officers and staff should be improved. Since prison officers are working under difficult circumstances they should be allowed better scales of pay and allowances, at a par with the police.

8. A reform programme should be introduced whereby individual prisoners are given treatment based on their different needs. Vocational, academic, and religious training facilities should be made available to individual prisoners for their reform and resocialisation. Diagnosis of individual prisoner’s treatment needs is essential. More emphasis should be placed on the diagnosis of the specific problems. Such a reform programmes should include modern methods of classification of offenders through psychological, psychiatric and sociological tests. A” classification board” consisting of the head of prisons, a psychologist, a psychiatrist and technical and medical staff, could be established. The following should be the basis of classification system for offenders, in terms of custodial and treatment considerations

9. Bangladeshi prison officials and guards need to be educated and trained to

treat prisoners with due respect for their intrinsic self-respect and value them

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as human beings. Prejudice on the basis of race, sex, religion, political or other opinion, and national or social origin must be done away with.

10. Prisoners should be allowed to practice their religious rituals. All prisoners should have the right to take part in cultural activities and education directed to the full advancement of human potential

11. Policy formulations are needed to enable prisoners to undertake meaningful wage-earning jobs inside the prisons, which will allow them to contribute to their own financial support and to that of their immediate family members, and facilitate their reintegration into the country's labor market when they come out after serving their time

12. Prisoners must have the right of entry to the health services available in the country without unfairness on the standing of their legal status.

Conclusion

Failure to improve the living conditions in Bangladesh prisons may lead to extreme anguish among the prisoners, and may direct them to take violent public attention drawing activities, like hunger strikes, self-mutilation, rioting, and other forms of dissent incident. Anyway Reforms, particularly prison reforms to deal with human security in our prisons, are understandably difficult to achieve. However, they can be brought about if concerted efforts are made by both govt. agencies in charge of prison administration and NGOs and civil society to improve prison systems. The govt. has taken up some projects to promote welfare of the inmates and bring them back to be integrated in society. Hopefully all concerned will take it as a moral commitment for upgrading the human dignity.

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