Prisoners in jails across Bangladesh will soon be able to speak with family members through video calls, with an AI-based system set to disconnect calls if an unregistered person appears on camera.
The Department of Prisons has also said all conversations during the video calls will be recorded.
Muhammad Enayet Ullah, assistant inspector general of Department of Prisons (development), told Dhaka Tribune on Tuesday afternoon that the names of a prisoner's father, mother, brother and sister will be pre-registered in the prison's app.
When a prisoner speaks with family members through a video call on a mobile device, the call will be automatically disconnected using AI if anyone other than the registered person appears before the camera, he said.
He added that all conversations will be recorded.
Video calls involving VIP prisoners and accused persons in political cases will be conducted under specific guidelines. The duration and other conditions of such calls will be determined by the prison authorities.
Former Inspector General of Prisons Brigadier General Motahar Hossain inaugurated the prisoner-family video call project at Munshiganj Jail on July 5.
The program will be introduced in jails across the country in phases, according to officials concerned.
Prison sources, however, said the video call service has not yet started despite the project's inauguration. It is expected to begin soon at Munshiganj Jail.
Prisoners will use a designated area known as the case table, where new inmates are counted in the early morning, to make the calls.
Currently, prisoners can speak with family members once a week for 10 minutes using button phones. On the designated day, around 200-250 prisoners make calls.
Under the new system, prisoners will also be allowed to make video calls once a week at a designated time. They will use a device installed at a designated location inside the jail and access the service through the prison's app.
Bangladesh currently has 74 jails, including Dhaka Central Jail. Of these, 15 are central jails and 59 are district jails.
The combined capacity of the country's jails is around 45,000, while the current prison population is nearly twice that figure.
The Department of Prisons, headquartered in Dhaka's Bakshibazar, oversees the administrative activities of all 74 jails.
