National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman Prof Mizanur Rahman yesterday said he will not visit jails in the country any more as the rights chief.
The decision is in protest, he stated, at barring him from entering the Sylhet Central Jail on September 29 last year.
He was addressing a daylong conference on human rights as the chief guest at a hotel in the town.
The NHRC chief also noted that he could sue the inspector general of prisons over the incident but decided against it as the incident had created massive awareness among the people.
Most of the people do not even know the difference between human rights and a criminal offence, mentioned Mizanur adding, the state should take an initiative to let its people know about this in order to improve the human rights situation.
Besides, the media can play a significant role to this end, he observed.
He urged all to respect the dignity of human beings.
Relief International, an NGO, hosted the event as part of its project Transparency for Human Rights in Bangladesh.
Deputy Commissioner of Bogra Sarwar Mahmud, Additional Superintendent of Police Mohammad Abdul Warish, lawmakers Shefali Khatun and Mostafa Ali Mukul, former MP Kamrunnahar Putul, lawyers Mir Iqbal Hossen and Sadrul Anam Ranju and Country Director of Relief International Nazrul Islam addressed the conference, among others.
Journalists from Bogra, Thakurgaon, Rajshahi and Rangpur, local lawyers, political leaders and civil society members attended the meeting.
Mizanur went to Sylhet Central Jail to see if the human rights of the inmates were protected. But the jail authorities had denied him entry to the prison citing an order of the IG prisons not to allow anybody in without prior permission from the home ministry.