IHC orders setting up of complaint cell for Adiala prisoners

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Ather Minallah on Saturday issued directives to constitute a temporary complaint cell for the prisoners of the Central Jail, Adiala under the supervision of the National Commission of Human Rights (NCHR). He said the cell would address the complaints received from the prisoners till the jail’s own Oversight Committee became functional. He issued these directives during his visit to the Central Jail Adiala, Rawalpindi. Justice Muhsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Mian Gul Hasan, Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri, Arbab Muhammad Tahir and Chairperson NCHR Rabiya Javeri Agha accompanied the chief justice.

Justice Minallah appreciated the efforts of the NCHR for compiling the NCHR Inquiry Report on Torture Allegation by Prisoners Incarcerated in Central Jail Rawalpindi.

The high court judges were briefed by IG Jails Malik Mubashir and SP Jail Ejaz Asghar about the steps taken to improve the conditions of the prisoners. They said the Punjab government was establishing five model jails in Punjab with an expenditure of Rs 60 million.

The judges visited different barracks, interacted with prisoners and listened to their complaints. They took updates from the prisoners of under-trial cases in the Islamabad High Court and issued orders to improve the situation of prisoners. The IHC CJ acknowledged the visible improvement in the jail administration but pointed to room for further improvement. He said the problem of corruption and human rights abuses was deep-rooted in jail systems and needs time for improvement.

To ensure rapid relief to juvenile prisoners, Justice Kayani directed the concerned to present files of all such prisoners to him for review in the next 24 hours. He said bails would be granted to all juvenile prisoners arrested for minor crimes. The judges also directed the authorities to start the process of establishing rehabilitation and observation centres for juvenile prisoners committed under the Juvenile Justice System Act 2018.

Justice Minallah directed deputing an administrative judge to take care of the needs and complaints of juvenile prisoners on a priority basis. He also made a special committee, with the representation of jail psychologists and the NCHR law office, for this purpose. He asked the chief commissioner to arrange a special van for juvenile prisoners.

The NCHR presented its inquiry report on Custodial Torture at Central Jail (Adiala), Rawalpindi, to Justice Minallah on October 25. The inquiry report was prepared by the NCHR at the behest of Justice Minallah on the basis of a complaint against custodial torture filed by Imtiaz Bibi before the IHC. An NCHR team comprising Chairperson Rabiya Javeri Agha, Member Punjab Nadeem Ashraf and Legal Counsel Waqar Ahmad visited the jail for eight times during the course of this investigation and met numerous inmates to take their statements. Through these inspections, the NCHR uncovered various issues from administrative incapacities to the blatant torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners: As many as 74 per cent spoke of instances of torture and extortion whereas 100 per cent corroborated instances of extortion for every rightful facility provided at the jail. The jail experiences overcrowding (6,098 inmates housed in a jail built for 2,174), a lack of medical personnel (one doctor for 5,851 prisoners) and medical budget (1/7 of its demand), inedible food and a system steeped in extortion to get access to basic rights and facilities within the jail. The accounts of torture range from physical beating to solitary confinement, a violation of Rule 44 of the Mandela Rules which have been ratified by Pakistan. Another issue uncovered by this investigation was the plight of juvenile prisoners due to the lack of implementation of the Juvenile Justice System Act 2018: As many as 79 out of 82 juveniles are under trial, 29 of whom are without legal representation which is in contravention to Section 3 (1) of the JJSA, 2018. As many as 75% of juveniles have no father and come from the most impoverished sections of the society. With no support from family or state, even those granted bail have no recourse to sureties, no place to go and are incarcerated with habitual and hardened juvenile offenders.