273 convicted prisoners in condemned cells for crimes against women and children

The incident occurred in 2005. Perpetrators burned to death a 16-year-old girl named Samina after failing to obtain the dowry they had demanded. She had entered into a child marriage.

Thirteen years after Samina’s murder, in 2018, the Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-9 in Dhaka sentenced six individuals, including her husband Jafar, to death.

Among them, Jafar, his sister Rokeya, and Rokeya’s husband Abdur Rahim remain in prison. Eight years have passed, yet the authorities have not carried out the death sentences imposed by the court.

Samina’s mother, Nazma Begum, 60, lives in Kaunia village in Savar. Speaking to Prothom Alo yesterday, Tuesday, she expressed her frustration, saying, “Even after all this time, the executions have not taken place.”

She said that she travels from Savar to Mirpur-10 to sell bangles on the pavement. About two months ago, several individuals assaulted her. According to her, the attackers were relatives of the convicted persons.

According to information from the Department of Prisons, 273 prisoners convicted in cases involving violence against women and children, rape, and murder are currently on death row. Prison authorities keep death-row inmates in condemned cells.

Since Bangladesh’s independence, authorities have carried out the death sentences of 26 individuals for offences involving violence against women and children.

Of these, 19 were executed for rape followed by murder. The most recent execution for rape followed by murder took place on 22 January 2023.

In criminal cases, the High Court must confirm a death sentence before the authorities can carry it out. Such proceedings are known as Death Reference cases.

The trial court must send its judgment and case records to the High Court for confirmation of the sentence.

Within the prescribed period, a convicted person may file a jail appeal and an appeal against the judgment. The accused may also submit various other applications.

Courts generally hear the Death Reference, jail appeals, appeals, and miscellaneous applications together.

However, before the hearing can take place, officials must prepare a paper book containing the case records.

This document includes the First Information Report (FIR), charge framing order, witness testimonies, the trial court’s judgment, and other relevant case materials.

In many instances, Death Reference hearings face significant delays. Cases often take months or years to conclude.

During this period, the convicted individuals remain in prison. In some cases, the higher courts acquit defendants after finding insufficient evidence to establish guilt.

The non-governmental organisation, Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, has conducted the case concerning Samina’s murder by burning.

Dipti Sikder, director of the organisation’s Legal Aid and Advocacy Department, told Prothom Alo that the case is still awaiting a Death Reference hearing before the higher court.

She said that the judicial process took 13 years to produce a verdict, and even after a further eight years, the authorities have not carried out the death sentence.

She added that such prolonged judicial delays do not send a message that society can ensure swift justice.

Instead, they create frustration among the public. In many cases, surviving victims or members of victims’ families continue to live under threats from the accused persons’ side.

The issue of prolonged delays in Death Reference hearings has returned to public discussion following the rape, murder, and dismemberment of an eight-year-old child in Pallabi, Dhaka, on 19 May. The incident sparked widespread outrage across the country.

The court delivered its verdict in the case on 7 June, just 19 days after the murder.

The judge of the Dhaka Metropolitan Children Repression Prevention Tribunal convicted Sohail Rana of rape and murder and sentenced him to death.

The court also sentenced his wife, Swapna Akter, to death for assisting in the rape and murder.

Yesterday, Tuesday afternoon, the authorities forwarded the trial court’s judgment and all related case documents to the High Court for Death Reference proceedings.

Another widely discussed incident occurred on 5 March last year. A child from Magura went to visit her sister’s home, where she became the victim of rape and an attempted murder.

Authorities later transferred the critically injured child to Dhaka. She died on 13 March of that year while receiving treatment at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka.

Two months after the child’s death, the Magura Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal delivered its verdict on 17 May last year.

The court sentenced Hitu Sheikh, the child’s brother-in-law’s father, to death for rape and murder. The tribunal acquitted the remaining three accused—the child’s brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and elder brother-in-law.

The case is now awaiting a Death Reference hearing before the Appellate Division. Meanwhile, on 25 June last year, Hitu Sheikh filed an appeal with the High Court against the trial court’s judgment.

According to data from the Department of Prisons, 2,707 death-row inmates are currently held in the country’s 74 prisons in connection with all categories of cases.

As of 9 June, the total prison population stood at 74,000, despite an official capacity of 46,000 inmates.

The Department of Prisons says that managing death-row inmates presents particular challenges. Brigadier General Syed Md Motaher Hossain, inspector general of prisons (IG Prisons), told Prothom Alo that death-row inmates often refuse to comply with instructions from prison authorities and frequently display unruly behaviour.

He added that the prisons currently hold inmates well beyond their intended capacity. “If the courts conclude pending cases more quickly, the number of prisoners will decline,” he said.

Following Bangladesh’s independence, courts tried cases involving violence against women and children under general criminal laws. The country introduced the first special law to address such offences in 1983 through an ordinance.

In 1995, Parliament enacted the Women and Children Repression (Special Provisions) Act.

The current legislation originated with the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000, which underwent amendments in 2003, 2020, and most recently in 2025.

The legislation is now titled the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, 2026. Several provisions of the Act prescribe the death penalty.

In 2020, nationwide protests followed two incidents of gang rape in Sylhet and Noakhali.

In response, the then Awami League government amended the law to make the death penalty the maximum punishment for rape. The government also made DNA testing mandatory for identifying accused persons in rape cases.

Following the rape and murder of the child in Magura, the interim government introduced several significant amendments to the rape provisions in 2025.

While the law retained rape committed under a promise of marriage within the rape section (Section 9), it placed the offence under a separate subsection (9B) and a different heading, namely “Punishment for sexual relations induced by the false promise of marriage”. The maximum penalty under this provision is seven years’ rigorous imprisonment.

The amendments also removed the mandatory requirement for DNA testing of both the victim and the accused. The law now provides that if the court considers a medical certificate sufficient to proceed with the trial, DNA testing will not be required.

The amendments reduced by half the time limits for the investigation and trial of rape cases (excluding offences under Section 9B).

Investigators must complete investigations within 15 days, and courts must conclude trials within 90 days. However, judges may extend these time limits if they consider it necessary.

The new government has also taken steps to prevent prolonged delays in the higher courts following death sentences imposed by trial courts.

Following the verdict in the widely discussed Pallabi child rape and murder case, Attorney General Md Ruhul Quddus Kazal stated during a briefing that, although lower courts may deliver judgments promptly, delays in appellate hearings often result in lengthy delays in implementing those judgments.

He said that he had raised the issue before the Chief Justice in open court on Sunday.

According to him, the Chief Justice subsequently indicated that specific benches would be constituted to hear cases under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act, including Death References and appeals.

On 1 June 2012, a 15 year old girl became the victim of rape and murder at Nahar Plaza in Hatirpool, Dhaka. After killing her, the accused, Saiduzzaman Bacchu, was caught red-handed after dismembering the body into 26 pieces.

Five years later, on 5 April 2017, the Dhaka Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal-3 sentenced Saiduzzaman to death in the high-profile case.

However, the verdict brought little comfort to the victim’s family. Approximately six months before the judgment, the accused had secured bail and subsequently absconded.

This reporter spoke with the victim’s mother in November 2023. (Attempts were made to contact her again over the past two days, but she could not be reached.) At that time, she expressed her frustration, saying, “The poor do not receive justice.”