Over 1000 foreigners in Bangladesh jails despite end of term

Dhaka: More than 1,000 foreign prisoners, including Indians, continue to languish in the Central Jail in

the Bangladesh capital despite the end of their terms as the countries of origin declined to take them back, a media report claimed here. The foreign prisoners appeared to be a liability as the government needed to spend nearly taka 1 crore yearly to accommodate a huge number of foreigners at the already overcrowded jails after the expiry of their terms, jail officials were quoted as saying by the 'New Age'

"These people have been a terrible burden for us as we are struggling hard to arrange accommodation for 86,000 inmates," Inspector General of Prison Brigadier General Zakir Hasan told the daily.

He said the countries refused to recognise them as their citizens as the prisoners did not have passports or valid documents. Of the prisoners, the report claimed, 400 are from Myanmar, 200 from India and the rest came from Pakistan, Nigeria, Malaysia, Tanzania, Nepal, Ghana and Saudi Arabia and most of them were jailed for charges like drug trafficking and trespassing. Eight of the prisoners are women.

The jail officials, quoted by the paper, said whenever the prison authorities approached the concerned embassies in Dhaka, they always responded negatively, shattering the hopes of prisoners to go back home and join their families again.

"Actually, they do not want to take the responsibility of these people," said a senior official at the Dhaka Central Jail, which is stuffed with around 9,000 prisoners against the capacity of 2,700. Prison officials said they came to know about the nationality of the prisoners through interrogation.

Prison authorities, however, have launched a discussion with Canadian International Development Agency to find ways to return the foreign nationals to their respective countries on humanitarian grounds.

Bureau Report