DT e-Paper 24 February 2017

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6 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2017 DT News General prisoners to be allowed phone calls Jail authorities propose wages for working inmates • Arifur Rahman Rabbi General prisoners will now be given the opportunity to speak with their families over the phone. This facility will not extend to top terrorists and militants, said Inspector General (Prisons) Brig Gen Syed Iftekhar Uddin. He made the statement at a press conference for Prison Week 2017 held at the Directorate of Prison in Bakshibazar, Dhaka yesterday. Prison Week 2017 is set to begin on February 26 and will be formally inaugurated by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan. With the slogan “Correction of prisoners, rehabilitation into society,” the objective of the week is to increase the quality of service, change the negative perception of the prisons, change the attitudes of the jail police, bridge the gaps between jail police, prisoners and the prisoners’ families, and play a greater role in controlling militancy. According to Iftekhar, prison intelligence officers will monitor all calls made by prisoners. The calls will also be recorded. “When a prisoner is processed for jail we collect their personal information for our database and each prisoner is required to log two registered phone numbers belonging to their spouses, parents or children,” he added. Iftekhar also said Bangladesh jails had yet to launch any rehabilitation programme for terrorists and militants. Prisoners accused of militant crimes are being held separate from ordinary prisoners. “We need specific experts to handle the deradicalisation or rehabilitation of militants and terrorists, but there is a shortage of such experts in the country. Regardless, we are discussing the matter and are trying to resolve it,” explained the IG (Prisons). Ifekhar added that, in line with the prime minister’s request, they have sent a proposal to the government requesting that the prisoners who work at the jail get wages. “Currently, 5,000 prisoners are employed and the goods they make are being sold at a 37% profit. This money goes directly to the government. We proposed that 10% should be given to prisoners as wages,” he said. In response to questions, he added that video trial processes will begin soon, starting with Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj and Kahsimpur High Security Central Jail. He also said there are 492 prisoners who have been on trial for over five years and eight to 10 prisoners who have been on trial for over 10 years. • Prisoners in shackles: HC summons DIG prisons • Ashif Islam Shaon The High Court has ordered the deputy inspector general of prisons to explain why four prisoners were produced before the court in shackles. The bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan and Justice Krishna Debnath yesterday ordered the DIG prisons to appear before it on March 9 with the explanation. On February 5, Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee’s panel lawyer informed the court about 10 prisoners who had been behind bars for 10-18 years but their trials were yet to finish. The court on February 7 issued a suo-moto ruling asking why they should not be granted bail. It had also asked the prison authorities to produce them before it on Thursday along with their case dockets. When the prisoners were produced before the court from Keraniganj jail, the court noticed that four of them were in shackles. The police officials who escorted the prisoners to the court said the jail authorities sent them in shackles. Then, the court asked to unshackle them and summoned the DIG prisons to explain. The four prisoners in shackles were Habibur Rahman, Moniruzzaman, Nasiruddin and Giasuddin. The rest six were Faruk Hossain, Selim Mia, Raju Jagannath, Haider Ali, Boshir Uddin and Rafuqul Islam Raja. SC Legal Aid Committee panel lawyer Syeda Sabina Ahmed Moli said as dockets of nine prisoners did not reach the court in the day, it ordered the authorities concerned to submit the dockets by March 9. • ‘Kandari-12’ is the newest member of the Chittagong Port Authority fleet. Western Marine Shipyard, a renowned shipbuilder in Chittagong, constructed the 25.20 meter long tugboat, which has a capacity of 2,000hp. With the new addition, the number of tugboats now stands at seven. Western Marine Shipyard Managing Director Md Sakhawat Hossain formally handed over the tugboat to Chairman of Chittagong Port Authority Rear Admiral M Khaled Iqbal at a ceremony held at a jetty of the port yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE Mufti Hannan files review petition on death penalty • Ashif Islam Shaon Convicted militant leader Mufti Abdul Hannan has filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking review of an Appellate Division verdict that upheld his death conviction for the 2004 murder attempt on former British envoy Anwar Choudhury. Advocate-on-record Nahid Sultana submitted the petition to the apex court on Thursday, seeking his acquittal. A death warrant was read out to the chief of a faction of Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh (HujiB) and his two cohorts, also deathrow convicts, Sharif Shahedul Alam and Md Delwar Hossain in early February. If the petition is rejected, the trio will have to seek presidential clemency as the last resort to save their necks. They must die by hanging upon the president’s denial in this regard. Militants tried to assassinate Anwar, the then UK high commissioner, at the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal in Sylhet on May 21, 2004, but their efforts were in vain. However, three people were killed in the attack which left over 70 others injured. A Sylhet court in December 2008 sentenced the trio to death, and two others to life imprisonment for the attack. The High Court upheld the sentence in February last year. In December the same year, the death row convicts appealed to the Appellate Division, but to no avail as the death penalty was upheld there as well. The Appellate Division’s 65- page full verdict was published on January 17 this year. Hannan also carries a death sentence for the 2001 Ramna Batamul bombing which killed ten people. Since its formation in 1992, the militant outfit has carried out at least 14 attacks, killing more than 100 people in the pursuit of establishing Shariah Law in Bangladesh. • Shafik cleared to fly after hours of fuss at airport • Arifur Rahman Rabbi Veteran journalist Shafik Rehman was cleared after being barred from boarding a flight to the United Kingdom by Immigration Police at the Shahjalal International Airport yesterday. He was scheduled to board a 6:55am Turkish Airlines flight to the UK to visit his wife Taleya Rehman who is ill and is currently seeking treatment there. Immigration Police’s Special Superintendent Mahabub Rahman explained why he was not allowed to board the flight: “Since Shafik Rehman is an accused in a high profile case, we had to make sure he had the court documents regarding the release of his passport upon bail. “We are currently verifying the documents presented and if everything looks good, he can take the next flight out if he wishes.” Later, ASP Abdullah Al Mamun of Immigration Police said Shafik could fly out of the country since his papers had been cleared. Shafik Rehman is a dual citizen of Bangladesh and the UK. Shafik was arrested on April 16, 2016 for allegedly plotting to abduct and murder Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He was released on bail in September. •
News 7 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2017 ‘Lack of translations a matter of concern’ • SM Najmus Sakib DT Irad Siddiky arrested upon arrival at Shahjalal • Arifur Rahman Rabbi Police have arrested Chowdhury Irad Ahmed Siddiky, a former Dhaka mayoral candidate, from the Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. Around 5am yesterday, the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit’s Cyber Security and Crime Prevention Division arrested Siddiky, 45, after he landed in Dhaka. He was later produced before the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Khurshid Alam who then granted a four-day remand after the police plead for seven days. Irad, the son of BNP leader Chowdhury Tanbir Ahmed Siddiky, lives in the Netherlands. CTTC Unit’s Deputy Commissioner Alimujjaman told the Dhaka Tribune that Irad’s SIM, mobile phone, Macbook and laptop had been seized. He also claimed police had “taken over” his Facebook IDs. • After school is over, young students flock to a book stall at the Suhrawardy Udyan premises of the Ekushey book fair yesterday Sex workers awaiting proper rehabilitation • Kamrul Hasan Sex Workers Network General Secretary Chumki Begum said sex workers in Bangladesh are not receiving proper rehabilitaion. After the 2009 eviction of the Tanbazar brothel in Narayanganj, the workers were promised resocialisation. “However, the administration married off the sex workers to elder men from the area and provided them with sewing machines to help them embark on a different career path,” Chumki said Due to the lack proper rehabilitation, the former sex workers became streetwalkers. While attending a view exchange meeting yesterday on developing the human rights conditions of the sex workers at Dhaka Reporters Unity, Chumki demanded a longterm rehabilitation system rather than temporary solutions. Sex workers present at the meeting demanded the right to live like all other citizen of Bangladesh. Vice President of SWN Ivan Ahmed Kotha, said: “No one wants to join this profession. Sometimes women are forced to choose this profession because they lack alternatives, but people use religious agendas to force the local government to shut down the brothels, forcing the sex workers to leave.” The sex workers said they cannot file police cases if they want any legal action as the police threathen them with social exposure. They even find it hard to receive treatment from doctors, as doctors tend to neglect them due to their profession. • Translated literature acts as a door through which cultures and literatures can be shared with our neighbouring nations. More publications in the country need to be translated, said experts at a seminar of Amar Ekushey Book Fair. Besides literature, other publications including academic books, scientific research papers and articles should be translated into Bangla, they said at the seminar on “Translated literature: Literature of translation.” Bangla Academy arranged the seminar on its premises yesterday to mark the month-long book fair. To meet the rising demand for contemporary literature, they suggested a specialised unit be formed to work on translations from Bangla to other languages and vice versa in which the Bangla Academy would play a vital role. As of day 22 of the fair, a mere 17 translation works have been launched, mostly by young writers. Shortly after independence, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had ordered Bangla to be implemented in every sector. However, the work was incomplete due to a lack of skilled manpower and proper guidelines. Since then, academia has been hit with a crisis in which students are not taught to be well-versed in either Bangla or English, said Prof Khaliquzzaman Ilias. “Translating literature is a difficult job that requires creativity, and we need skilful, creative minds to carry it out, but have only a handful of experts,” he said. “We only take English into account when translating, yet for our literature to flourish, we have to consider translating our Bangla works to European and subcontinental languages, and vice-versa,” he added. To raise our educational standards and research to international levels, there is no alternative to becoming full versed in our mother tongue as well as English to understand any subject of study, the speakers said further. Developed countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, and European nations, who are experts in the fields of science and creative research, implement their work in their own languages. Prof Abdus Selim, in his keynote paper, said a lack of institutional initiatives is behind the dearth of translations, most of which are carried out on a personal basis, but these efforts need to be brought under an institutional framework. He called for a government-run “translation centre” where selected literary and research works would be translated. Translations would not need to be literal but Ahmed Sharif memorial lecture today • Tribune Desk Marking the 18th death anniversary of Dr Ahmed Sharif, a renowned scholar, researcher of medieval Bangla literature and a forerunner of free thought movements in Bangladesh, Swadesh Chinta Shangha has arranged a memorial lecture and an award giving ceremony in the Business Studies Faculty auditorium of Dhaka University today at 4:00pm. Writer and cultural activist Probir Ghosh of Kolkata, will deliver the lecture and award recipients will be Communist Party of Bangladesh President Comrade Mujahidul Islam Selim MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU should concentrate on preserving the respective culture, language, geography and knowledge of literature, he said. Poets Mohammad Sadek and Shamim Azad also addressed the seminar, among others. Later, a cultural programme was presented by Sparsho, a publication for the visually impaired. • and Economist Prof Anu Muhammod. The function will be presided over by ProfAbul Kasem Fazlul Haq. Former Dhaka University Bengali department professor Ahmed Sharif, who was an avowed advocate of free thinking in Bangladesh, died on February 24, 1999 in Dhaka. He was a rational humanist who opposed fascism, sectarianism and superstition and vocal against autocracy. He was the recipient of many honours and awards including Ekushey Padak in 1991 for his outstanding contribution in the field of research on medieval Bengali literature and contemporary socio-cultural-political essays. He was born at Patiya in Chittagong on February 13, 1921. Swadesh Chinta Shangha introduced Ahmed Sharif Commemoration Lecture and Ahmed Sharif Commemoration Award in 2000. •
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DT e-Paper 24 February 2017

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