Zakir Hossain / Dhaka
The Bangladesh government is considering reducing the tenure of life imprisonment, particularly for elderly inmates, Home Affairs Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said on Sunday.
“Under the Penal Code of 1860, life imprisonment is equivalent to 30 years. We are reviewing whether the duration can be lowered considering age,” he told reporters after a meeting at the Secretariat in Dhaka.
He added that the term could be reduced to 20 years for women and slightly higher for men, depending on the convict’s age at sentencing. The proposal, however, is still under review.
Trial of Bangladesh defence officers to be held at Dhaka tribunal
The trial of high-ranking Bangladesh defence officers accused in crimes against humanity cases will be conducted at the Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam confirmed on Sunday.
During proceedings at ICT-2, chaired by Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury, the bench asked the prosecution whether the officers’ cases would be tried in the existing tribunal or a separate forum.
Dismissing doubts, Islam said, “This debate is unnecessary. By amending the law, the trial of defence officers has been brought under its jurisdiction.” He then read out Subsection 1 of Section 3 of the International Crimes Tribunal Act in support of his submission.