Bengali Newspaper Of Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Prison conditions were extremely poor and were a contributing factor in some custodial deaths. During the year, 90 persons died in custody (see Section 1.a.). All prisons were overcrowded and lacked adequate facilities. Government figures indicated that the existing prison population of approximately 67,354 was nearly 300 percent of the official prison capacity of approximately 25,000. Prison population figures included 1,910 women. There were 276 persons in prison under 18 years of age. Of the entire prison population, 45,173 were awaiting trial, and 21,251 had been convicted. In most cases, cells were so crowded that prisoners slept in shifts. A new prison facility in Kashimpur, north of Dhaka, opened in 2001, although the first phase of construction had not been completed at year's end. There also were reports of rampant corruption and irregularities in the prisons. According to a 2002 newspaper report, a deputy inspector general (DIG) of prisons fled from Chittagong af ... [Read More]
Bangladesh
The Government's poor human rights record worsened, and the Government continued to commit numerous abuses. Security forces committed a number of extrajudicial killings. The police; the paramilitary organization, Bangladesh Rifles (BDR); the auxiliary organization, Ansar; and the military deputed to the RAB used unwarranted lethal force. Police often employed excessive, sometimes lethal, force in dealing with opposition demonstrators, and police and RAB personnel routinely employed physical and psychological torture during arrests and interrogations. Prison conditions were extremely poor and were a contributing factor in some deaths in custody. Police corruption remained a problem. Nearly all abuses went unpunished, and the climate of impunity, reinforced by 2003 legislation shielding security forces from legal challenge of their actions, remained a serious obstacle to ending abuse and killings. Violence, often resulting in deaths, was a pervasive element in the country's politics. Sup ... [Read More]
Bangladesh
The country has a total area of approximately 53,000 square miles, and it has a population of nearly 140 million. Sunni Muslims constitute 88 percent of the population. Approximately 10 percent of the population is Hindu. The remainder of the population is mainly Christian (mostly Catholic) and Buddhist. Members of these faiths are found predominantly in the tribal (non-Bengali) populations of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, although many other indigenous groups in various parts of the country are Christian. There also are small populations of Shi'a Muslims, Sikhs, Baha'is, animists, and Ahmadis. Estimates of their populations vary from a few hundred to 100,000 adherents for each faith. Religion is an important part of community identity for citizens, including those who do not participate actively in religious prayers or services. ... [Read More]
Bangladesh
The Government's human rights record remained poor in many significant areas, and it continued to commit serious abuses, although it respected citizens' rights in some areas. Police committed a number of extrajudicial killings, and some persons died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Police routinely used torture, beatings, and other forms of abuse while interrogating suspects. Police frequently beat demonstrators. The Government rarely punishes persons responsible for torture or unlawful deaths. Prison conditions are extremely poor for the majority of the prison population. Rape of female detainees in prison or other official custody has been a problem; however, there were no reports of such occurrences during the year. The Government continued to arrest and detain persons arbitrarily, and to use the Special Powers Act (SPA) and Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which allow for arbitrary arrest and preventive detention. The Public Safety Act (PS ... [Read More]
V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G
Cyprus is a destination country for women trafficked from Eastern and Central Europe for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Traffickers who forced women into prostitution continued to fraudulently recruit victims for work as dancers in cabarets and nightclubs on short-term "artiste" visas, for work in pubs and bars on employment visas, or for illegal work on tourist or student visas. There was increasing evidence of Chinese women being trafficked for sexual exploitation in Cyprus. The Government of Cyprus does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Cyprus made some progress in its anti-trafficking efforts over the past year. The new police anti-trafficking unit produced successful results and showed vigilance in combating the problem. Government recognition of the problem improve ... [Read More]
Bangladesh
Many Hindus have been unable to recover landholdings lost because of discrimination in the application of the law, especially under the now-defunct Vested Property Act. The Act was a Pakistan-era law that allowed "enemy" (in practice Hindu) lands to be expropriated by the Government. Approximately 2.5 million acres of land were seized from Hindus, and almost all of the 10 million Hindus in the country were affected. Property ownership, particularly among Hindus, has been a contentious issue since partition in 1947. However, in April 2001, Parliament passed the Vested Property Return Act. This law stipulated that land remaining under government control that was seized under the Vested Property Act be returned to its original owners, provided that the original owners or their heirs remain resident citizens. Hindus who fled to India and resettled there are not eligible to have their land returned, and the Act does not provide for compensation for or return of properties that the Governmen ... [Read More]
Bangladesh
The Government continued to arrest and detain persons arbitrarily, and to use the Special Powers Act (SPA) and Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which allowed for warrantless arrest and preventive detention. The Government replaced the Public Safety Act (PSA), which lacked bail provisions, with the Speedy Trial Act (STA), which provided for quicker disposal of cases and bail. The lower judiciary was subject to executive influence and suffered from corruption. A large judicial case backlog existed and lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. Police searched homes without warrants, and the Government forcibly relocated illegal squatter settlements. Virtually all journalists practiced some self-censorship. Attacks on journalists and efforts to intimidate them by government officials, political party activists, and others increased. The Government limited freedom of assembly, particularly for political opponents, and on occasion, limited freedom of movement. The Government gen ... [Read More]
Bangladesh
The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens in some areas; however, its record remained poor in many other significant areas, and it continued to commit serious abuses. Police committed a number of extrajudicial killings, and some persons died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Police routinely used torture, beatings, and other forms of abuse while interrogating suspects. Police frequently beat demonstrators. The Government rarely convicts and punishes those persons responsible for torture or unlawful deaths. Prison conditions are extremely poor for the majority of the prison population. Rape of female detainees in prison or other official custody has been a problem; however, there were no reports of this during the year. The Government continued to arrest and detain persons arbitrarily, and to use the Special Powers Act (SPA) and Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which allow for arbitrary arre ... [Read More]
Vol 31 No 3, July - September 1993 Page 48
The unit head will be chosen on the merit of professional competence and motivation, not on the grounds of deceptive “seniority” based on the number of years of experience, which is usually-and falsely -taken as a proof of a teacher’s competence. The supervisor will choose a head from among the teachers in a unit after carefully examining their academic and professional backgrounds, as well as their personal characteristics. If he finds that none of the teachers in a certain school is suitable for the position, he will arrange for a talented and competent teacher to be transferred from elsewhere. The Supervision Department in the Ministry of Education or the related Educational Directorate will hold a short in-service training course on teacher evaluation for these teachers, to be followed by a standardised competence-performance test, which will determine whether they s ... [Read More]
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