Accused on life support in ICU, handcuffs spark fresh controversy

Mizanur Rahman has remained in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Department of Critical Care Medicine at Dhaka Medical College Hospital since 14 June. Physicians placed him on life support two days after his admission.

Speaking to Prothom Alo while sitting outside the ICU on Saturday, 25 July, Mizanur Rahman's mother, Matoara Begum, said, “For the first two days after he was admitted to hospital, he kept crying out calling “mother”.

Since then, he has had no awareness of the world around him. He does not even recognise me anymore. His entire body is paralysed.”

A photograph of Mizanur Rahman recently circulated on Facebook. The image shows a thick tube attached to his throat and another tube inserted into his nose.

As he lies in bed, his right hand is secured with handcuffs attached to a thick rope, while an oximeter remains clipped to one of the fingers on that hand.

Mizanur Rahman's wife, Salma Jahan, confirmed to Prothom Alo that the photograph circulating on Facebook is indeed of her husband.

However, neither she nor any other family member knows who took the photograph inside the ICU or how it was leaked.

Salma Jahan said, “On Monday, when the physicians informed us that my husband's condition had become extremely critical, we requested that the police remove the handcuffs, and they agreed. Before that, we had repeatedly asked them to remove the handcuffs, but the officers on duty always said that the rules did not allow it.”

Mizanur Rahman remained handcuffed throughout an entire month in the ICU.

Mizanur Rahman, 48, is the former vice-chairman of Patuakhali sadar upazila parishad and was a member of the Patuakhali District Committee of the Awami League, whose activities have been banned now.

Following the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August 2024 during the mass uprising, his house in Patuakhali came under attack.

Mizanur Rahman faces multiple criminal cases, including charges of murder and attempted murder.

After his arrest 11 months ago in connection with a case filed at Paltan police station in Dhaka, the authorities detained him at Kashimpur Prison in Gazipur.

According to Salma Jahan, Mizanur Rahman fell ill at Kashimpur Prison on 9 June. However, the prison authorities did not inform the family. They learnt of his condition through the relative of another inmate who was acquainted with him.

The authorities initially admitted Mizanur Rahman to Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital in Gazipur.

They later transferred him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, the National Institute of Neurosciences and Hospital, and then back to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where physicians subsequently admitted him to the ICU.

Salma Jahan said, “My husband secures bail in one case, only to be shown arrested in another. They are persecuting him for political reasons. At this point, we do not even know whether he will survive. Our family has also become physically and mentally exhausted.”

Mizanur Rahman is the only brother among five sisters. Since their father died 20 years ago, the entire family has depended on him. Outside the ICU at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, his mother, wife, sisters and other relatives take turns staying on mats spread across the floor.

The authorities arrested Mizanur Rahman in Dhaka on 14 September last year in connection with a murder case. The First Information Report (FIR) identified him as a “suspected accused” in that case.

His wife, Salma Jahan, also spent six months in Patuakhali district prison and Kashimpur women's prison in connection with three separate cases. She is now out on bail.

She previously served as chairman of Kalikapur Union Parishad in Patuakhali sadar upazila and as organising secretary of the district unit of the Krishak League.

Meanwhile, while Mizanur Rahman remained in Kashimpur Central Prison, the authorities showed him arrested in several additional cases.

His lawyer in Dhaka, HM Sarwar Hossain, told Prothom Alo that Mizanur Rahman has so far secured bail in a total of eight cases filed in Patuakhali and Dhaka.

While he was critically ill and receiving treatment in the ICU, the authorities summoned him to court on 23 June as a suspected accused in another case. The court has now scheduled a virtual hearing for 30 July.

Prothom Alo spoke to several physicians working in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Department of Critical Care Medicine. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the physicians said the patient remains on life support and that there is no way to say with certainty whether he will survive.

His condition has deteriorated critically on several occasions, prompting the medical team to advise the family to prepare themselves mentally for the worst.

Several police officers have been deployed outside the ICU in three shifts. Although the physicians requested that the handcuffs be removed, the officers repeatedly refused, saying that "the rules do not permit it".

When Prothom Alo asked several police officers on duty outside the ICU on Saturday afternoon about keeping the patient handcuffed, they said only that they were carrying out orders from their superiors. They added that they had no authority to remove the handcuffs on their own initiative.

Inspector General of Prisons Brigadier General Syed Md Motaher Hossain told Prothom Alo that handcuffs are primarily used to prevent an accused person from escaping and to ensure security.

He said that, in the case of accused persons receiving treatment in hospital, the handcuffs are removed if the attending physicians raise an objection.

One of the physicians responsible for the ICU told Prothom Alo, “The handcuffs interfered with treatment in the ICU, including procedures such as inserting a cannula. The rope attached to the handcuffs was not properly sterilised either. Most importantly, this patient has never been in a condition where he could possibly escape. Keeping a patient handcuffed in the ICU is extremely inhumane.”

Asked whether Mizanur Rahman could have escaped from the ICU, Inspector General Syed Md Motaher Hossain said, “We do not expect a seriously ill person to remain in handcuffs either. However, we still have certain shortcomings. Prisoners receive treatment in different hospitals and different wards. The issue of security always remains. Officers assigned to guard accused persons in hospital often find themselves in difficult situations.”

A similar controversy recently arose after former Industries Minister and leader of Awami League, whose activities are now banned, Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun was kept in handcuffs while receiving treatment in hospital.

He died on 29 September last year at the age of 75 while undergoing treatment in the ICU of Dhaka Medical College Hospital. At the time, photographs showing him lying in a hospital bed while handcuffed circulated widely on social media.

On 3 July 2018, the High Court ruled that the authorities must not misuse the law governing the use of handcuffs on arrested persons. The Court also instructed the relevant authorities to exercise caution when deciding whether to use handcuffs.

Speaking to the media at the time, Abu Obaidur Rahman, the lawyer who argued the case on behalf of the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), said that the police should follow the provisions of the Police Regulations of Bengal (PRB) when deciding whether to use handcuffs. He added that placing handcuffs on anyone outside the scope of those regulations would constitute a violation of human rights.

Regulation 330 of the Police Regulations of Bengal sets out the rules governing the use of handcuffs.

It prohibits imposing any greater restraint than is necessary solely to prevent an accused person from escaping. The regulation permits the use of handcuffs only in specific circumstances—for example, if the prisoner is physically strong and accused of a violent offence, is a known habitual offender, is likely to create trouble, if the journey is particularly long, or if a large number of prisoners are being escorted.

In 2017, the authorities kept a student of Jahangirnagar University handcuffed while he was receiving treatment in hospital after his arrest. After the High Court took judicial notice of a report published in the “The Daily Star”, it issued a rule on 29 May 2017.

The Court also summoned the Officer-in-Charge of Ashulia police station to explain why the student had remained handcuffed during medical treatment. Through the rule, the Court sought an explanation as to why keeping a patient handcuffed while undergoing treatment should not be declared unlawful.

On 22 January 2023, 10 Supreme Court lawyers served legal notices on three secretaries to the government, the Inspector General of Police and the Inspector General of Prisons, urging them to take the necessary steps to stop the unlawful practice of using shackles and handcuffs on prisoners and arrested persons and to formulate a specific policy on the matter. Asad Uddin, a lawyer at the Supreme Court, served the notice on behalf of the 10 lawyers.

Asad Uddin told Prothom Alo that the legal notice requested the government to stop the unlawful use of handcuffs and shackles on accused persons and to formulate a guideline or policy on the issue within 15 working days.

He added that the High Court later heard a writ petition filed by senior lawyer Kayser Kamal and issued a rule concerning the formation of a committee to prepare guidelines on the use of handcuffs on prisoners and detainees.

Through the rule, the Court asked why it should not direct the authorities to establish such a committee.

On 30 January 2023, the High Court issued another rule asking why the use of the relevant provisions of the Prisons Act, 1894, and the Jail Code in an “arbitrary and unreasonable” manner to place ordinary prisoners in shackles and handcuffs should not be declared unlawful.

The High Court Bench issued the rule after holding a preliminary hearing on a writ petition challenging the legality of using those provisions to impose shackles and handcuffs “arbitrarily and unreasonably”.

Lawyer Kayser Kamal, who now serves as the Deputy Speaker of the National Parliament, filed that writ petition.

On 3 December 2023, Nahid Sultana, the wife of Md Aminur Rahman, filed a writ petition challenging the legality of providing medical treatment to her husband while he remained in shackles.

Aminur Rahman was a leader of Jubo Dal in Jashore. Kayser Kamal represented the petitioner. At the time, photographs of Aminur lying in a hospital bed with shackles on his legs also spread widely on Facebook.

Inspector General of Prisons Brigadier General Syed Md Motaher Hossain told Prothom Alo that the authorities have not yet formulated any guideline or policy governing the use of handcuffs.

Physicians also believe that the authorities urgently need to introduce a specific policy governing the use of handcuffs on patients receiving medical treatment, particularly those in intensive care units (ICUs).