Legal safeguards governing arrest and custody need stronger implementation and accountability, speakers said at a workshop in Dhaka on Saturday.
The workshop, organised by SAPRAN – Safeguarding All Lives at Bishwo Shahitto Kendro, examined citizen–police interactions under amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Participants discussed how legal provisions apply to arrest, investigation, and custody through case studies based on real-life situations.
Legal historian Rashed Rahom said that successive amendments had not fundamentally changed the criminal justice system’s colonial structure. He called for effective accountability when police or other law enforcement agencies breach legal safeguards.
Former inspector general of police Baharul Alam discussed the powers and constraints of the police and asked why Bangladesh had yet to establish an independent Police Commission.
Nur Khan Liton, a former commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission, described the uncertainty faced by families of people subjected to enforced disappearance.
Relatives sometimes ask human rights activists whether their loved ones are alive, he said, but activists often cannot give them an answer.
Liton also expressed concern that the Special Response Battalion had been given broader powers than the Rapid Action Battalion, adding that the division of crime control, investigation, and custody responsibilities among different bodies had made the system more complex.
Supreme Court advocate Priya Ahsan Chowdhury discussed the implementation of CrPC amendments and court directives, particularly in cases involving “show arrests.”
Advocate Dr Qazi Zahed Iqbal spoke about the law’s colonial origins and the need for legal frameworks to respond to changes in society. The workshop ended with remarks by SAPRAN Research Director Md Zarif Rahman.
