UNB, Dhaka :
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday asked the Law Minister to take special measures for collecting information about the poor prisoners unnecessarily languishing in jails and make arrangement for their release.
“There’re many poor and helpless prisoners in jails and they’ve been languishing there for years in various cases though they don’t exactly know what their offences are, or don’t have the financial capacity to have legal aid,” she said asking the Law Minister to look into the matter. Sheikh Hasina was addressing the inaugural function of the National Legal Aid Services Day 2016 at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh in the city. The day is observed on April 28 every year. Reaffirming that her government’s aim is to protect the basic rights of poor people, the Prime Minister said her government has taken steps to ensure legal aid services at the grassroots level. “Many poor people languish in jail and they don’t know how to get legal aid and how to get their cases settled,” she bemoaned. Hasina said the National Legal Aid Service Organisation could extend their support to
those staying in jails without any specific charges. “These people do not need to stay in jails without any reason or without specific charges.” She said the aim of her government is to ensure the rule of law as well as protect poor people from all kinds of injustice and deprivation and protect their due rights.
Quoting section 27 and section 19 of the Constitution, Hasina said the Constitution makes it clear to ensure the civic rights of every citizen which her government has been working tirelessly to ensure that.
The Prime Minister said she herself was a sufferer because of it as she could not seek the trial of the killers of her father Bangabandhu and other family members after their assassination on August 15, 1975 as the indemnity ordinance was promulgated to give impunity to the killers of August 15 and also to the four national leaders. After assuming office in 1996 after long 21 years, Hasina said her Awami League government brought the killers under trail after annulling the indemnity ordinance and executed the verdicts.
“When anyone seeks justice for any incident, it comes to my mind I myself didn’t get justice at that time as my rights were then scrapped,” said the emotion-choked Prime Minister adding that she had to undergo through such pain for long. She alleged that those who grabbed power after the 1975 assassination rehabilitated the killers or Bangabandhu and his family members by making them MPs, ambassadors.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday asked the Law Minister to take special measures for collecting information about the poor prisoners unnecessarily languishing in jails and make arrangement for their release.
“There’re many poor and helpless prisoners in jails and they’ve been languishing there for years in various cases though they don’t exactly know what their offences are, or don’t have the financial capacity to have legal aid,” she said asking the Law Minister to look into the matter. Sheikh Hasina was addressing the inaugural function of the National Legal Aid Services Day 2016 at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh in the city. The day is observed on April 28 every year. Reaffirming that her government’s aim is to protect the basic rights of poor people, the Prime Minister said her government has taken steps to ensure legal aid services at the grassroots level. “Many poor people languish in jail and they don’t know how to get legal aid and how to get their cases settled,” she bemoaned. Hasina said the National Legal Aid Service Organisation could extend their support to
those staying in jails without any specific charges. “These people do not need to stay in jails without any reason or without specific charges.” She said the aim of her government is to ensure the rule of law as well as protect poor people from all kinds of injustice and deprivation and protect their due rights.
Quoting section 27 and section 19 of the Constitution, Hasina said the Constitution makes it clear to ensure the civic rights of every citizen which her government has been working tirelessly to ensure that.
The Prime Minister said she herself was a sufferer because of it as she could not seek the trial of the killers of her father Bangabandhu and other family members after their assassination on August 15, 1975 as the indemnity ordinance was promulgated to give impunity to the killers of August 15 and also to the four national leaders. After assuming office in 1996 after long 21 years, Hasina said her Awami League government brought the killers under trail after annulling the indemnity ordinance and executed the verdicts.
“When anyone seeks justice for any incident, it comes to my mind I myself didn’t get justice at that time as my rights were then scrapped,” said the emotion-choked Prime Minister adding that she had to undergo through such pain for long. She alleged that those who grabbed power after the 1975 assassination rehabilitated the killers or Bangabandhu and his family members by making them MPs, ambassadors.
