Produce four prisoners serving without trial: HC
The High Court yesterday issued a rule asking the government to explain why four prisoners, who have been serving in jail without trial for years, should not be granted bail in murder cases.
Issuing a suomoto rule, the court ordered the jail authorities to produce the four under trial prisoners --Chan Miah, Makbul Hossain, Sentu Kamal and Billal Hossain, who are in Kashimpur jail, before it on December 4 for hearing their statements.
Of them, Chan Mia has reportedly been serving in prison for 18 years, Billal for 17 years and Mokbul and Sentu for 16 years in connection with separate murder cases.
The HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice JBM Hassan also called for the records of the cases from the lower courts concerned as they were not settled for a long time.
The judges came up with the rule and order following a November 16 report of a private television channel about sufferings of the four in jail and state of the cases.
Supreme Court lawyers Aynun Nahar Siddiqua and Cumar Debul Dey placed the TV report before the HC judges seeking necessary orders.
According to the report, Chan Miah has been in Kashimpur jail since 1999 in a case, which is pending with Paribesh Appeal Adalot (Environment Appellate Court) in Dhaka. Makbul Hossain from Madaripur was arrested in 2000 in a murder case, which is pending with a Dhaka court.
Sentu Kamal from Motijheel AGB Colony was arrested in 2001 and was produced before the Special Judge's Court-3 of Dhaka last month. Billal Hossain from Comilla has been suffering in jail since 2002 in another case, which is now pending with another Dhaka court.
The same HC bench on November 8 this year had granted bail to one Shipon, who was imprisoned for about 17 years in a murder case without any trial.
The Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee on November 16 sent letters to the jail authorities across the country asking them to provide information about the under trial prisoners for providing legal assistance to poor prisoners.
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