CHATTOGRAM, Bangladesh — Twelve prisons in Bangladesh’s Chattogram Division are facing severe overcrowding, with nearly 20,000 inmates held in facilities designed to accommodate fewer than 8,000, according to prison authorities.
The prisons have a combined capacity of 7,850 inmates, but currently house 19,966 prisoners — more than two and a half times their intended capacity.
The overcrowding has made it difficult for prison authorities to maintain the required separation of inmates based on their legal status and the nature of their offences. As a result, detainees facing different charges and convicted prisoners are sometimes being held in the same areas.
According to prison authorities, the 12 facilities have capacity for 7,479 male and 413 female inmates. The current population stands at 19,222 men and 744 women.
Among those held in the prisons are 1,131 inmates serving life sentences, including 1,068 men and 63 women. Another 257 prisoners are on death row, comprising 240 men and 17 women. A total of 4,268 inmates are being held in drug-related cases.
Chattogram Central Jail
The division’s largest facility, Chattogram Central Jail, has a capacity of 2,249, but currently houses 6,903 inmates.
The prison includes 909 detainees accused in drug cases, while 226 inmates are on death row, including 16 women. There are also 517 life-term prisoners — 495 men and 22 women.
The facility has 5,491 male and 169 female pretrial detainees, as well as 495 male and 23 female convicted prisoners. It also houses 76 foreign nationals.
Other overcrowded prisons
Cumilla Jail, which can accommodate 1,742 inmates, currently holds 3,180.
Cox’s Bazar Jail has capacity for 830 but houses 2,885 inmates, including 884 people accused in drug cases.
Brahmanbaria Jail, designed for 780 prisoners, currently holds 2,191.
Noakhali Jail has capacity for 500 but houses 1,090 inmates, while Chandpur Jail has capacity for 475 and currently holds 1,086.
Feni-2 Jail is particularly overcrowded. Its capacity is only 72, but it currently holds 464 inmates.
Lakshmipur Jail, with capacity for 295, houses 663 prisoners. Rangamati Jail has capacity for 148 but holds 269, while Bandarban Jail, designed for 114 inmates, houses 441.
Khagrachhari Jail has capacity for only 81 inmates but currently holds 268.
Feni-1 is the only facility among the 12 where the reported inmate population remains below capacity. It can accommodate 564 prisoners and currently houses 526.
Prisoners getting far less space than prescribed
Prison sources said the jail code provides for 36 square feet of space per inmate. However, with inmate numbers more than doubling capacity at 11 of the 12 facilities, authorities are unable to provide that amount of space.
In some cases, two or three inmates are reportedly being accommodated in space intended for a single prisoner.
Advocate Akhtar Kabir Chowdhury, general secretary of Citizens for Good Governance (SUJON) in Chattogram, said prisons should serve not only as places of punishment but also as institutions for rehabilitation.
He said authorities should ensure that prisoners receive the rights and facilities guaranteed under prison regulations, including humane living conditions.
Chowdhury also stressed that not everyone held in prison has been convicted of a crime, noting that many are awaiting trial and some may eventually be acquitted.
Prison authorities acknowledge pressure
Mohammad Chhagir Mia, deputy inspector general of prisons for the Chattogram Division, acknowledged the pressure caused by overcrowding.
He said the division’s 12 prisons currently hold around 20,000 inmates, more than twice their combined capacity, with particularly high numbers at facilities including Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar.
According to him, a proposal has been submitted for the construction of a new prison in Chattogram.
He said authorities were continuing to provide care to inmates, while acknowledging that the unusually high prisoner population was creating operational difficulties.
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