About 508 Bangla child prisoners languishing in jails

Dhaka, Apr 17 (UNI) A total of 508 children are languishing in different jails of Bangladesh despite a High Court directive to transfer all the juvenile detainees to correction homes.

The High Court, on April 9, 2003, had issued a suo motu directive asking the authorities to immediately transfer the accused juveniles detained in jails to correction centres and other approved homes.

About 508 children were detained in jails across the country till March this year, United News of Bangladesh (UNB) quoting sources concerned said.

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia had recently asked the district magistrates to form juvenile court in every district for separate trial of the accused children.

According to the data provided in a recent meeting of the 6th National Task Force formed for implementing the High Court order, about 719 children were detained in jails, as of November 2005.

Although, the Children Act, 1974, clearly states that children under 16 cannot be sent to jail.

Meanwhile, hundreds of children are sent to jail every year and kept with convicted criminals in violation of the 1974 law, sources at the Task Force said.

Nevertheless, 2,262 children landed in jails across the country in 2005 alone, officials at the Task Force said.

UNI XC AD PC1746