Victims can seek compensation: PM

Those who have been detained despite committing no crimes can seek compensation from the authorities concerned, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told parliament yesterday.

“There is also a legal provision that allows such people to seek compensation from the state,” Hasina said in response to a query from Jatiya Party Lawmaker Nurul Islam Milon.

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The question was tabled in the House during a question-answer session chaired by Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury.

The PM pointed out that cases against such detainees are now pending, and they might be either under investigation or trial. But if the judicial process lingers on, the judges concerned have the jurisdiction to consider their release on bail.

The premier also said she was informed during her detention in the last caretaker government's tenure that many people were detained without having committed any crime.

“Such prisoners should be freed immediately. Steps have been taken to get those individuals released with the support of some non-governmental organisations and government bodies. The process is on.

“The government has taken measures for quick disposal of these cases so that the accused don't languish in jail without trial for long,” Hasina said.

The government is trying to determine the actual number of people who have been in prison for a long time, she mentioned.

The issue of detention without trial for a long period came to the fore late last year after a private TV channel reported that a person named Md Shipon had been in jail for more than 16 years without trial.

Following the report, the High Court on October 30 asked the lower court concerned to provide it with the case records and ordered the jail authorities to produce Shipon before it to hear his statement.

On November 8 last year, Shipon, arrested in a murder case in 2000, finally got bail from the HC, which directed the trial court to complete the trial proceedings in 60 working days.

As there were more media reports that many have long been in jails without being convicted, the Supreme Court Legal Aid Office (SCLAO) on November 16 last year sent letters to the authorities of all the 68 jails across the country, seeking names and particulars of prisoners whose trials have been going on for long.

The letters said the SCLAO would provide legal assistance to those financially insolvent.

In response, the Office of the Inspector General of Prisons submitted a report to the SCLAO in December last year.

According to the report, 462 prisoners have spent more than five years in jail with their cases still pending with different courts, a SCLAO official told The Daily Star.

PM ON GENDER REPORT

In response to a question from Treasury Bench Lawmaker Kamal Ahmed Majumder, the PM said Bangladesh ranked sixth in terms of political empowerment of women in the Global Gender Gap Report 2016.

"Out of 144 countries, Bangladesh secured the 72nd position, which indicates that the situation is better here compared to other South Asian countries,” she said.

Responding to a query from Awami League Lawmaker Ayeen Uddin, Hasina hoped the new Election Commission would function in line with its constitutional obligations and hold free, fair and acceptable elections in future.