The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Saturday alleged that inmates of the opposition party are being denied regular facilities in prisons and facing torture from the jail staff.
‘The current inspector general (prisons) has verbally ordered all the prisons not to give the inmates of the BNP even the usual facilities. The BNP leaders and activists, unlike other inmates, are not even allowed to come out of their cells in the morning,’ BNP senior secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said at a virtual press conference.
He said that visits from the relatives and giving clothes are not allowed, while talking on mobile phones has rarely been allowed.
‘A section of overzealous officers virtually declared war on the inmates from the opposition party. I condemn and protest against this type of torture on prisoners and strongly urge [the authorities] to ensure the rights of the prisoners,’ he said.
The BNP senior leader complained that following instructions from prime minister Sheikh Hasina, the IG (prisons) have grown reckless to oppress the opposition people in jail.
The IG (prisons) has turned the jails to gas chambers and concentration camps for the people involved in opposition politics, Rizvi alleged.
He said that Government Titumir College hall unit Chatra Dal general secretary Niaz Hossain endured severe torture in the hands of the Detective Branch of the police that left him immobile.
Niaz cannot move, eat or drink anything inside the jail due to police torture. He cannot even stand on his knees and suffers from severe headache while nose bleeds as he was hit on the head, Rizvi said.
Niaz has been sent to jail with serious injuries inflicted by the police and in prison also the authorities denied him medical treatment, he alleged.
Condemning such inhuman treatment of the opposition leaders and activists in jail, Rizvi demanded immediate arrangement of proper medical treatment for Niaz.
‘Otherwise, the government will have to bear the responsibility if something happens to Niaz,’ the senior opposition leader warned.
Rizvi also alleged that Tejgaon College unit Chatra Dal joint general secretary Md Meshkat Hossain was picked up by plainclothes law enforcers from Panthapath intersection on December 4 at about 11:10pm.
‘Despite my repeated requests, till now [Saturday evening] the law enforcement officials have not handed him [Meshkat] over to any police station,’ he said.
Marking International Human Rights Day, he said that Sheikh Hasina has violated human rights through enforced disappearances and murders and building secret prisons.
‘Despite international investigations and criticisms, the government continues violation of human rights. A situation of captivity has been created. According to an international human rights organization, 647 persons have disappeared in the hands of the law enforcement agencies over a decade and a half so far,’ he said.
The relatives of the victims of enforced disappearance, murder and crossfire wanted to stand in front of the National Museum at Shahbagh on Saturday morning to express their grief and sorrows, said Rizvi, referring to a human chain organised on Saturday.
‘But on Sheikh Hasina’s orders, the police did not allow them to stand there. The government is afraid to even let them speak. Today, victims of missing incidents, murders and human rights violations cannot speak,’ he observed.
The BNP and other opposition parties, as part of the ongoing anti-government simultaneous movement, will hold human chain programmes across the country, marking International Human Rights Day today.
Family members of the victims of enforced disappearance and the recently arrested party leaders and activists will join the programme.
New Age
