Improvement of the Real Situation of Overcrowding in Prisons in (IRSOP) [A joint project of Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) and GIZ]

Key Statistics January 2018 Official capacity of Actual population in

Prisoners in Bangladesh 36,614 Prisons 75,394 As of 31/01/2018 | Source: Prisons Directorate, Bangladesh

Achievements by the Paralegal Advisory Services (PAS) from March’09 to January’18 Released on Bail, Discharged and Acquitted* 18,521 - PAS Interventions 513,040

Achievements by the Paralegal Advisory Services (PAS) from December’13 to January’18 Persons assisted in Courts Persons assisted in Police 204,613 Stations 20,389

Reducing Recidivism from Dec ember’13 to January’18 Person attended Skill Identified Drug dependent Drug dependent prisoners Development Training prisoners for referral received Counselling and 9,344 13,014 other services 8,835

Mediation, Restorative Justice and Diversion from October’13 to January’18

Mediation Restorative Justice Diversion

9,087 5,921 9,310 *Prisoners released through project interventions from January’09 to January’18 Released on Bail, Name of the Prison Official Capacity Actual Prisoners Under trial Convicted Discharged & Acquitted* Central Jail 633 1094 682 62% 412 38% 702 District Jail 720 1874 1555 83% 319 17% 2366 District Jail 504 1027 851 83% 176 17% 70 Jail 200 436 337 77% 99 23% 628 Central Jail 1853 6459 5644 87% 815 13% 852 Central Jail 1742 2927 2371 81% 556 19% 851 Central Jail 4590 8954 7395 83% 1559 17% 4623 District Jail 2000 928 689 74% 239 26% 285 Jail 719 1023 847 83% 176 17% 185 Jail 200 874 716 82% 158 18% 75 District Jail 207 1035 934 90% 101 10% 174 Gopalganj District Jail 348 383 330 86% 53 14% 546 Jail 200 454 325 72% 129 28% 140 Central Jail 1919 1478 919 62% 559 38% 416 Kashimpur Central Jail-I 548 1575 1260 80% 315 20% Kashimpur Central Jail-II 2000 2309 1719 74% 590 26% ** Kashimpur Central Jail-III 200 543 417 77% 126 23% District Jail 608 1184 813 69% 371 31% 278 Jail 245 1148 976 85% 172 15% 330 Kustia District Jail 600 663 409 62% 254 38% 193 Jail 110 455 377 83% 78 17% 1483 Jail 100 726 612 84% 114 16% 149 District Jail 316 640 540 84% 100 16% 198 Jail 164 661 557 84% 104 16% 53 Central Jail 996 1709 1297 76% 412 24% 428 Jail 587 1219 1007 83% 212 17% 5 Narayangonj District Jail 200 1879 1636 87% 243 13% 80 District Jail 244 1068 924 87% 144 13% 348 Jail 200 840 606 72% 234 28% 24 District Jail 400 603 524 87% 79 13% 6 Jail 388 811 564 70% 247 30% 29 District Jail 571 1438 1228 85% 210 15% 111 Jail 278 549 454 83% 95 17% 98 Central Jail 1460 2821 1852 66% 969 34% 1254 Rangpur Central Jail 1279 1896 1412 74% 484 26% 471 Jail 400 703 599 85% 104 15% 76 Jail 100 320 281 88% 39 12% 246 Jail 100 368 288 78% 80 22% 28 District Jail 200 970 844 87% 126 13% 175 Jail 435 660 545 83% 115 17% 3 Central Jail 1210 1953 1300 67% 653 33% 471 Jail 467 1325 992 75% 333 25% 31 Jail 168 343 296 86% 47 14% 40 Total 30,409 60,325 47,924 79% 12,401 21% 18,521 * Project activities started in Dhaka, Bogra and Madaripur from January 2009, Rangpur and Mymensingh from December 2013, Comilla, Dinajpur, Chandpur, Narsingdi, Gopalganj from August 2014, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Jessore, Barisal, Shariatpur from October, 2014, Sylhet, Faridpur, Khulna from April, 2015 and Moulvibazar and Kishoreganj from August, 2015. Gaibandha, Gazipur, Jhenaidah, Kustia, Manikganj, Pabna, Patuakhali, Satkhira, Sirajganj and Thakurgaon started in April, 2016. Tangail, Natore, Sherpur, Noakhali and Munshiganj in March 2017, Brahman Baria, , Netrokona May 2017 and Naogaon, Sunamganj in July 2017. ** Cumulative figure of prisoners released on bail, discharged and acquitted from Kashimpur Central Jail I, II and III are included in Dhaka Central Jail.

Improvement of the Real Situation of Overcrowding in Prisons in Bangladesh (IRSOP)

In 2008, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), Bangladesh, and the Prison Directorate initiated the project, Improvement of the Real Situation of Overcrowding in Prisons in Bangladesh (IRSOP). The project recruited and trained eighteen paralegals, five of them women, who began providing free legal aid to prisoners and their families in three pilot districts (five prisons), while also assisting lawyers, the police, and the courts. Their work was very successful that the MoHA and the Prison Directorate expanded the project across the country. Work in the prisons is supported by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of Germany through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). In January 2013, the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) agreed to provide the finance needed to expand the project to 40 districts (43 prisons) by 2018 and to initiate measures to divert people away from the criminal justice system and prevent them from re-offending after they leave prison. Paralegals are not lawyers; they are like paramedics in the health care system. After being trained and mentored, they start working in prisons, courts and police stations within an agreed Code of Conduct with prison authorities and police. They perform as the lubricant in the criminal justice process. Every day, the paralegals enter the lock ups of different prisons in various . They remain there for two to three hours, during which they interview 20 to 30 people. The paralegals present the information they have gathered to the District Legal Aid Committee or a panel lawyer from one of the three NGOs supporting the project BRAC, Bangladesh Legal Aid & Services Trust (BLAST), RDRS-Bangladesh and Madaripur Legal Aid Association (MLAA) and request appropriate action. The data is also given to the Case Coordination Committees formed under the project, which meet once a month under the joint chairmanship of the District and Sessions Judge and the Deputy Commissioner. Representatives of all relevant stakeholders (judges, magistrates, administration, police, public prosecutor, bar association, Department of Women and Children Affairs, Department of Social Welfare, Department of Narcotics Control, partner NGOs, and civil society) attend the meeting and attempt to resolve long pending cases expeditiously and find local solutions to local problems related to the prison population and the case backlog. The paralegals also conduct Paralegal Aid Clinics inside the prisons to educate prisoners so they can use knowledge of the legal system in their own cases. Topics covered include bail, court manners, guilty plea, government legal aid, different stages of the judicial process, compoundable cases, arrest, and sentencing. The information is conveyed by way of theatre – with prisoners themselves playing the role of lawyers and magistrates – and through songs, a number of which were written by the paralegals themselves. In police stations, paralegals provide support to arrestees, helping them to understand the procedures and their options. They identify cases that can be diverted out of the system and resolved through a restorative justice conference in the community. Outside the courts, they inform prisoners and family members of the court setup and procedures, take steps to ensure that witnesses appear at the right time, and arrange surety for prisoners who have been granted bail. They follow up individual cases from the prisons, courts and police stations. One of the reasons that the prison population is so high is that petty cases, such as theft, vandalism, and drugs clog the system. One highly effective means of diverting people out of the criminal justice system and away from prison is restorative justice, which brings offender and victim together in a dialogue, helping them to understand each other. Such a conversation, guided by a trained mediator, often ends with an agreement between victim and perpetrator on compensation or restitution, thus closing the circle with healing instead of antagonism and punishment. Restorative justice builds on mediation, which has a long tradition in Bangladesh. Madaripur Mediation Model, developed by the Madaripur Legal Aid Association, is widely used all over the country and outside Bangladesh. IRSOP project, working with its partners at the local level – Madaripur Legal Aid Association (MLAA), Light House, Agragati Sangstha and RDRS-Bangladesh has already trained people from the community with extensive mediation experience as restorative justice master trainers. Competency-based skill development, vocational training and employment opportunities are ways of offering prisoners a chance to reintegrate into society and to close the ‘revolving door’ of recidivism. Dhaka Ahsania Mission is providing drug treatment and skill training inside and outside the prisons, before and after release. There are too many prisoners, and they are in prison for too long, often for petty crimes. Even if they are eventually released, they have little chance of rebuilding their lives. Many face homelessness, health problems, or drug addiction upon release. IRSOP wants to help them to get a second chance everyone deserves.