HC decides not to extend detentions of SQ Chy, Salman

It is becoming exceedingly difficult for the government to keep high profile corruption suspects in detentions as the High Court has decided not to extend the duration of a number of such detentions under Special Powers Act.
Prison authorities last night received letters from the home ministry which said two high profile corruption suspects' detentions had not been extended.
The two high profile corruption suspects however are to remain in jail since they are also under arrest in connection with several other cases against them.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG-prisons) Major Shamsul Haider Siddique told The Daily Star last night, "I received two home ministry letters around 9:00pm which say BNP leader Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, and businessman Salman F Rahman have no further detention order against them."
Salahuddin and Salman were arrested in February last year.
The DIG said around 20 days ago he received another letter informing them that BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Tarique Rahman's detention had also not been extended.
The DIG-prisons said, "So far, there are 70 people in jail with division facilities, many of whom are not detained under Special Powers Act anymore. We have been receiving such letters from the home ministry for quite a while now."
He said, "Several of the detainees are now convicts and some are also under arrest in a number of cases, for which they are not being released."
Meanwhile, sources said former lawmaker Mossaddak Ali Falu's detention was also not extended, but the DIG-prisons claimed that he had not received any letter regarding Falu's detention not being extended.
Many of the high-profile corruption suspects have been detained under Special Powers Act for a long time now and the Advisory Board of the High Court, which decides every three months whether to extend a detention, recently decided not to extend detentions of a number of big-wig graft suspects, the DIG said.
Following the HC advisory board's decision, the home ministry has been sending out letters to prison authorities telling them which detainees' detentions were not extended.
The DIG-prisons said relatives of the detainees have to get permission from the special branch of police to visit them, every 15 days. Relatives of imprisoned graft suspects who are not under detention orders are however allowed to visit their incarcerated families once a week without needing any permission, and the jail authorities facilitate the visit, the DIG-prisons explained.
The military backed caretaker government, since coming to power in January 2007, launched a crackdown on high profile corruption suspects including former ministers, legislators, politicians and businessmen, detaining them under Special Powers Act.