Prisoners awaiting fair trial

There are far too many prisoners languishing in prison for a long time and many of them for petty crimes

For the last five years at least some 459 prisoners, lodged in 57 of our domestic jails are yet to be delivered justice through a fair trial.  According to reliable sources, the concerned authorities in this regard could not complete the trials mainly because of the absence of witnesses. However, having realized the appalling truth late, better than never, the Home ministry has finally asked Deputy Commissioners (DC) to complete the pending trials as expediently possible. The prisoners or alleged criminals are currently lodged in 14 jails with the Chittagong central jail housing the highest number of prisoners standing at 61.
The step to resolve the long-standing legal issue is indeed commendable, but the government’s legal authorities must soon find a solution for ensuring fair trial to every prisoner in the country. From another legal perspective, low rate of conviction has also proved that many of the prisoners were facing false cases, so a legal option for swift trials to free them of fake cases can also be considered. Furthermore, the move to resolve the issue by appointing local public prosecutors (PP) was necessary since many prisoners are too poor to afford personal lawyers. But needs a reminder, that the legal aid officers for visiting the jails across the country besides district judges and district magistrates in order to identify the prisoners awaiting trials with no access to legal services, is still not known by the majority of our public. This provision of government legal assistance should be made known quick through the proper media channels. 
Concerning pending trials issue, it has been often reported that there are far too many prisoners languishing in prison for long time and even many of them for petty crimes. After being released, many faced homelessness, health problems or became addicted to drugs. So beside the legal complexity there is also a very humane side to this issue. Not only the prisoners are denied justice through the means of on-time fair trial, but most of them become mentally shattered and disillusioned. As a democracy and civilised nation we shouldn’t allow this to happen to them.
Lastly, Bangladesh is committed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), among others, to treat “all persons deprived of liberty with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person,” besides segregating under trial prisoners from convicts and juveniles from adults and to bring prisoners as speedily as possible to trial. So we expect our legal authorities to conveniently act upon this commitment while remembering the old proverb - justice delayed is also a form of justice denied.

 

Prisoners awaiting fair trial

There are far too many prisoners languishing in prison for a long time and many of them for petty crimes

For the last five years at least some 459 prisoners, lodged in 57 of our domestic jails are yet to be delivered justice through a fair trial. According to reliable sources, the concerned authorities in this regard could not complete the trials mainly because of the absence of witnesses. However, having realized the appalling truth late, better than never, the Home ministry has finally asked Deputy Commissioners (DC) to complete the pending trials as expediently possible. The prisoners or alleged criminals are currently lodged in 14 jails with the Chittagong central jail housing the highest number of prisoners standing at 61. The step to resolve the long-standing legal issue is indeed commendable, but the governments legal authorities must soon find a solution for ensuring fair trial to every prisoner in the country. From another legal perspective, low rate of conviction has also proved that many of the prisoners were facing false cases, so a legal option for swift trials to free them of fake cases can also be considered. Furthermore, the move to resolve the issue by appointing local public prosecutors (PP) was necessary since many prisoners are too poor to afford personal lawyers. But needs a reminder, that the legal aid officers for visiting the jails across the country besides district judges and district magistrates in order to identify the prisoners awaiting trials with no access to legal services, is still not known by the majority of our public. This provision of government legal assistance should be made known quick through the proper media channels. Concerning pending trials issue, it has been often reported that there are far too many prisoners languishing in prison for long time and even many of them for petty crimes. After being released, many faced homelessness, health problems or became addicted to drugs. So beside the legal complexity there is also a very humane side to this issue. Not only the prisoners are denied justice through the means of on-time fair trial, but most of them become mentally shattered and disillusioned. As a democracy and civilised nation we shouldnt allow this to happen to them. Lastly, Bangladesh is committed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), among others, to treat all persons deprived of liberty with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, besides segregating under trial prisoners from convicts and juveniles from adults and to bring prisoners as speedily as possible to trial. So we expect our legal authorities to conveniently act upon this commitment while remembering the old proverb - justice delayed is also a form of justice denied.