[ALOCHONA] US Human Rights Report on Bangladesh Judiciary

US Human Rights Report on Bangladesh Judiciary



Dhaka, Apr 8 (UNB)- US Human Rights Report-2010 released in Washington Friday said the Bangladesh law provides for an independent judiciary, but in practice a longstanding temporary provision of the constitution placed the executive in charge of the lower courts, judicial appointments, and compensation for judicial officials.
"Legislation from 2007 separating the judiciary from the executive remained in effect throughout the year," it says.
 
Despite ostensible separation of the judiciary from the executive, the report says the political authority made judicial appointments to the higher courts and allegedly influenced many judicial decisions on politically sensitive cases, including decisions regarding bail and detention for political opponents of the government.
It says on April 11, the AL government appointed 17 additional judges to the High Court Division of the Supreme Court triggering protests from the pro-opposition Supreme Court Bar Association leaders.

The opposition argued that two of the appointees had criminal records that included murder charges and ransacking of court premises. Outgoing Chief Justice Fazlul Karim refused to administer oaths to the judges, which drew criticism from government leaders.On September 26, the government appointed A.B.M. Khairul Haque as the new Chief Justice of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, superseding two senior members of the Appellate Division.Opposition party leaders criticized the appointment, stating that Haque was chosen because of his perceived loyalty to the ruling party.

According to a set timeline, Haque was scheduled to step down from the Chief Justice position in May 2012 when he would assume responsibility for heading a constitutionally mandated caretaker government that would be responsible for conducting the next round of parliamentary elections.About prison conditions, the report says prison system conditions remained life threatening at times due to overcrowding, inadequate facilities, and lack of proper sanitation.Human rights observers stated that these conditions contributed to custodial deaths. Unlike in the previous year, there were no accounts of security forces holding detainees in temporary or military detention facilities.

According to Odhikar, 46 persons died in prison and 109 persons died in the custody of police and other security forces during the year.According to the government, the existing prison population at year's end was 69,650, or more than over 200 percent of the official prison capacity of 29,240.Of the entire prison population, approximately one-third of the detainees had been convicted. The rest were either awaiting trial or detained for investigation.

It says due to the severe backlog of cases, individuals awaiting trial often spent more time in jail than if they had been convicted and served a maximum sentence. In most cases, prisoners slept in shifts because of the overcrowding and did not have adequate bathroom facilities.During the year the government ordered the release of 1,000 prisoners to help ease overcrowding. Some human rights groups expressed concern over the methods used to determine which prisoners qualified for the release.
Political and personal connections often influenced the conditions that a prisoner would be placed in.

In general the government did not permit prison visits by independent human rights monitors, including the International Committee of the Red Cross.
On torture and other cruel punishment, the report says although the constitution prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment, security forces including the RAB, and police frequently employed torture and severe physical and psychological abuse during arrests and interrogations."Abuse consisted of threats, beatings, and the use of electric shock," the report says, quoting human rights organizations, it says security forces tortured at least 22 persons.

The report says the government rarely charged, convicted, or punished those responsible, and a climate of impunity allowed such abuses by the RAB and police to continue.

http://www.unbconnect.com/component/news/task-show/id-45213

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