HC: Prisoners cannot be produced in court in fetters

The High Court (HC) has ordered jail authorities not to produce prisoners in fetters before any court across the country. Justice Obaidul Hasan and Justice Krishna Debnath passed the order on Monday and also asked the authorities concerned to ensure adequate security for prisoners when producing them before the court. Earlier on February 23, four prisoners had been produced before the court in shackles, which is against common practice. The police personnel who transported the prisoners from Keraniganj jail had informed the court that the jail authorities had sent them in shackles. The court had asked that the prisoners, Habibur Rahman, Moniruzzaman, Nasiruddin and Giasuddin who have been in jail for more than 10 years for separate criminal cases, be unshackled. On Monday, it summoned Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Prisons Touhidul Islam and Senior Jail Superintendent Mohammad Jahangir Kabir and questioned them on why the prisoners had been produced before the court in manacles. Jahangir explained to the court that all four prisoners were members of a banned militant outfit and claimed that transporting them without fetters would be risky. He added that this practice had been prevalent since British rule, and there was no arrangement for removing the prisoners’ shackles before bringing them into the courtroom. In response, the court said: “If there is no arrangement, make some arrangement for them in future.”