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

Types of prisons
There are eighty prisons in Bangladesh of which nine are central jails, fiftyfive 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 Bangladesh1. 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 Jail
3. Mymensing Central Jail
4. Rajshahi Central Jail
5. Comilla Central Jail
6. Jessore Central Jail
7. Sylhet Central Jail
8. Barisal Central Jail
9. 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.

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.

The hierarchy of Prison Administration

Inspector General of Prison

Additional Inspector General of

Prison
Deputy Inspector General of Prison

Senior Jail Super

4
Junior
Consultant
Sub-Jail
Assistant
Sergeant
Jail
Chief
Deputy
Superintendent
Jail
Superintendent
Metron
Jailor
Jail
Jail
Guard
Instructor
Jailor
Guard
Inspector

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

Capacity

Number 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)

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
January 2001
January 2002
January 2003
January 2004
January 2005
January 2006
January 2007
May 2007
July 2008

capacity
23,942
24,997
25,018
25,396
26,157
27,112
27,254
27,254
27,451

Source: The Daily Jugantor, 4 July 2008.

Number of Prisoners
60,887
62,486
75,135
69,519
74,710
72,836
68,278
85,941
87,011

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 inmates

The third category is a residual category consisting of prisoners who are
not classified in first or second division(Bengal jail code,1937,page313).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.

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. Prisoners 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.

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 25gm3.1824 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 of soap is distributed every week. Most
distressed are vagrant boys and girls.

Meeting the Relatives

The privilege of having visitors or of visiting ones 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.

10

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

11

roshoshsho ummochon shiggire Shamokal, 1 September 2008.

24 April 2008. )

Inqilab,

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.

12

* 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

1,345

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

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

13

Month/Year
January 2001
January 2002
January 2003
January 2004
January 2005
January 2006
January 2007
May 2007
July 2008

capacity
23,942
24,997
25,018
25,396
26,157
27,112
27,254
27,254
27,451

Number of Prisoners
60,887
62,486
75,135
69,519
74,710
72,836
68,278
85,941
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)

Delays in Judicial Proceedings

14

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 and
dacoit 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

43,946

1,498

45,447

100

Total

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 ofundertrials. Two
types of accommodation are available in prisons: cell accommodation and
accommodation in association wards/dormitories.

15

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 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 food
There 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 mealssitting 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

16

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 womens rights, as guaranteed in the
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

17

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 Bangladeshs 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

18

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 tendears 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
Prisoners

Protection

of

Women

and

Child

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

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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
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

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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

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 wellequipped operation theatre for minor operations should be at every central jail.

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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 facilities
b. 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 release
f. Strengthening TB control programme in other jails of country

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.

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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
officers 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 prisoners 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 selfrespect and value them 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

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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, selfmutilation, 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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