We are deeply concerned about the situation in Chattogram Central Jail, where notorious criminals, militants and terrorists are being kept in the same wards as general inmates. According to a report by the daily Samakal, the prison, with a capacity for 2,249 inmates, is currently housing twice as many prisoners. This not only degrades the living conditions for all inmates, but also puts the security of the prison at risk.

The report mentions that there are currently 79 secured cells for dangerous criminals in the prison while the number of such inmates exceeds 700. The recent transfer of imprisoned Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) members from Bandarban has contributed to the increase in the number of such inmates. One building with secured cells is currently being used to keep KNF members only. As a result, the condemned prisoners and dangerous criminals from that building were shifted to a general ward. Inmates of this prison include leaders of JMB, Ansarullah Bangla Team, Huji and other terrorist outfits. Confining them together with general inmates increases the risk of radicalisation of the latter.

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We have repeatedly warned about this issue, calling on the need for rehabilitation and deradicalisation of militants in prison. There have been reports of instances when militant prisoners took advantage of the gaps in surveillance in overcrowded prisons to create new outfits and recruit new members. This compromises the security of a prison and also threatens the future peace and stability of the nation. Besides the militancy threat, keeping notorious criminals with general inmates endangers the latter's lives. The recent killing of one prisoner by another at Chattogram Central Jail is evidence of that danger.

Overcrowding in prison also dehumanises inmates by stripping them of their basic rights such as a proper space to sleep. The objective of imprisonment should not only be punishment; the focus should be on rehabilitation. While the expansion of Chattogram Central Jail is crucial in the short run, planning modern detention centres with proper surveillance systems and facilities to ensure inmates' basic rights, and preparing them, on a case-by-case basis, for social reintegration should be the ultimate goal.

This editorial was published in print on July ­20, 2024. Owing to the internet shutdown from the evening of July 18 to July 23, it was uploaded online on July 24, 2024.