US Ambassador to Bangladesh Dan Mozena has said justice was the bedrock of democracy.
He said: “In Bangladesh and throughout South Asia, justice has traditionally relied largely on confessions by the perpetrator. The system invites abuse as the agents of justice have a great incentive to force confessions from alleged perpetrators, leading the courts to throw the case out."
"The result is often a miscarriage of justice for all concerned, thus eroding public confidence in the justice process."
Mozena made the statement while addressing the inaugural ceremony of a two-day seminar jointly organised by Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and the US Embassy in Dhaka.
The seminar began at the Detective Training School (DTS), of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), in the capital's Rajarbagh area on Wednesday.
The seminar, titled “Dealing with mass casualty and forensic death investigation,” aims to train law enforcers in order to strengthen the country's justice system. Around 25 law enforcers, including sub-inspectors and fire-fighters are participating in the training.
“In a democracy, the state bears the responsibility to deliver justice to its citizens. Delivering such justice is a difficult task as the state must ensure justice to the victim, to the alleged perpetrator of a crime, and to society as a whole. All must have confidence in the system of justice,” he added.
The ambassador said if the state failed to provide effective justice, then citizens would lose faith in the justice system and resort to vigilante justice, when the citizens would take the law into their own hands.
Top specialists from the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) of the US Department of Justice are providing the training.
Mark Mogle, deputy assistant director of ICITAP, said: “Forensic science provides information to investigators, and sometimes lawyers challenge investigators. In order to get a better justice system, all of us need to coordinate.”
Among others, Md Mokhlesur Rahman, additional inspector general of CID, and Shahadat Hossain, commandant of DTS, were also present at the event.