Families to be notified within 12hrs of arrest
Syed Shemul Parvez :
Bangladesh is going to reform its code of criminal procedure (CrPC), the ancient law that outlines the mechanism for the administration of criminal justice, considering the concern of victims.
Experts say amendments to the CrPC will help lessen irregularities, torture and disappearances of the arrested persons side by side with ensuing justice in the society.
As a part of reform, the government on Thursday approved a proposal to amend the CrPC with provisions of making it mandatory to inform the family of an arrested person within 12 hours of his or her capture.
Experts are very optimistic about the government’s move and believe that with implementing the new law will help the mass people of the country get rid of sufferings and rate of disappearance and torture also be decreased greatly.
The proposed CrPC amendment was approved at a meeting of the Advisory Council chaired by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus at his office, said Law Advisor Asif Nazrul.
Law Advisor said, “After arresting someone, police must bring them to the police station and inform their family. Under no circumstances, police can take more than 12 hours to inform the information to his/her family.
If the arrested individual feels unwell, appropriate medical attention must be arranged.”
He also said, “From now on, any police officer carrying out an arrest must have proper identification. This includes a nameplate and an ID card, both of which must be presented upon request.”
However, the he did not clarify what penalties would be imposed on law enforcement if these rules are not followed.
Nazrul added that there must be written documentation outlining why the arrest was made, who made the arrest, and which family member was contacted afterwards.
He also said that the police headquarters must maintain a centralised list of all arrested individuals.
Over the issue, prominent lawyer of Bangladesh Supreme Court Shisir Manir told The New Nation that it is absolutely a good initiative by the interim government.
I welcome and congratulate the matter along with respect as the law is going to be amended very soon.
With the change in the criminal law, the victims of both civil law and criminal cases must get better service even it will play a significant role in ensuring justice in the society, lawyer Shisir Manir added.
In this regards, Mrs. Shaharia Afrin, Associate Professor & Chairman, Department of Criminology, University of Dhaka told The New Nation that it is undoubtedly a good step of the government.
We are very happy over the issue. But fact is that to implement it properly firstly we have to think about the capacity specially the number of police of the country.
Besides absolute digitalization also is needed to implement the law, she said.
It shouldn’t write only on the papers but need to implement to see the face of success ensuring the role of law.
The success of this law is depends on the willingness of political party as well as government, Shaharia Afrin added.
Under the current CrPC, any arrested person must be produced before a court within 24 hours.
The higher courts have previously directed that family members must be informed without delay after an arrest. However, this was not formally included in the CrPC, leading to frequent allegations of human rights violations.