Eight people died in jail custody in the first month of 2021 in Bangladesh, said rights watchdog Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) in its recent report.
Altogether 75 people died in jail custody in Bangladesh from January to December in the previous year, said ASK.
Of them, 45 were under-trial prisoners and the rest were serving jail terms after conviction, ASK’s data revealed.
Jails in Dhaka division saw the highest 39 deaths in custody. Of them, 22 were in the jail while trial proceedings in the cases were going against the others in the court, the rights body said in the report.
Earlier on February 25, writer Mushtaq Ahmed (53) died in the high-security Kashimpur jail in Gazipur district who was jailed for allegedly violating the stringent Digital Security Act (DSA).
Earlier on May 6 last year, Mushtaq Ahmed was arrested under the DSA for his social media comments allegedly criticising the government.
Thirteen Ambassadors and High Commissioners stationed in Dhaka on Friday urged the government of Bangladesh to conduct a "swift, transparent, and independent inquiry" into the full circumstances of writer Mushtaq Ahmed’s death in police custody.
nh/wi
