Govt to challenge HC directive on keeping convicts in condemned cells

The government has announced its intention to appeal the High Court's decision, which deemed the practice of housing convicts in condemned cells before the finalization of their death penalty as illegal.

Attorney General AM Amin Uddin said this on Tuesday, "The state will appeal to the Appellate Division against the High Court order.”

On Monday, the High Court issued a verdict declaring the practice of holding convicts in condemned cells before finalizing the death penalty as illegal.

According to the court, the death sentence is deemed conclusive only when it is upheld by the Appellate Division upon review, and if the president declines to pardon the convict. As per the court's directive, individuals currently housed in condemned or solitary cells within prisons are to be gradually transferred to general cells before the finalization of their death sentences.

A writ petition was submitted to the High Court on September 2, 2021, challenging the legality of confining a death row convict in a condemned cell before the case's final disposal.

Shishir Monir submitted the writ petition on behalf of three death row convicts who were held in a condemned cell at Chattogram Central Jail.