Eid-ul-Fitr: Prisoners to get special meals, recreation, and phone call facilities
Eid ul-Fitr arrives as a moment of joy even in prison life. Special meals are arranged in prisons on the occasion. Inmates will also be allowed to eat food brought and cooked by their family members.
Eid congregational prayers will also be held inside prisons, alongside cultural and sports activities for entertainment. Prisoners will get the opportunity to speak with their relatives over mobile phones for five minutes.
Following the 2024 student–people mass uprising that led to the fall of the Awami League government, many former ministers, MPs, and government officials were arrested and are now held in prisons across the country. This will be the second time they spend Eid ul-Fitr within prison walls.
Eid ul-Fitr will be celebrated in the country next Saturday. The Department of Prisons has said that, like general inmates, VIP and division-class prisoners (special-category inmates) will receive the same food on Eid day.
In the morning, all inmates will be served payesh, semai, and puffed rice. Lunch will include polao, beef, chicken roast, salad, sweets, and betel leaf with areca nut. Mutton will be served for inmates of other religions.
Dinner will consist of plain rice, potato curry, and fried rohu fish. In addition to these improved meals, inmates will also be allowed to eat food brought by their families.
According to prison sources, after the July uprising, 215 individuals—including former ministers, MPs, top leaders of the Bangladesh Awami League, and government officials—are currently in jail in cases filed over allegations including murder.
Among them, 183 have been granted division status. This includes 37 ministers and state or deputy ministers, 48 former MPs, and 98 individuals from other professions. Another 32 VIP detainees are in prison without division status.
Prison officials said that throughout the year, general inmates are usually served halwa, bread, and eggs in the morning; rice, lentils, and vegetables for lunch; and rice, lentils, and fish or beef for dinner. Division-class prisoners, however, are provided separate cooking arrangements according to their preferences.
Assistant Inspector General (development and media) of the Department of Prisons, Jannat-ul Farhad, told Prothom Alo on 17 March that eid prayers are held for inmates in all prisons. This year, a budget of Tk 250 per inmate has been allocated for improved meals.
The AIG, prisons further said from the eid day and for the following three days, inmates’ relatives will be allowed to provide food. Cultural events may also be organised inside prisons from the day after eid, with proper security arrangements.
On 16 March, a total of 80,000 inmates were held in 74 prisons across the country, including about 9,500 in Dhaka Central Jail.
When contacted on 17 March, senior superintendent of Dhaka Central Jail, Faruk Ahmed, said that an imam from a mosque outside the prison, associated with prison staff, will lead the eid prayer inside the jail.
He added that cultural programmes have been arranged for inmates after the prayers, where prisoners with artistic talents will perform songs. A friendly football match among selected inmates will also be held the day after eid.
From the eid day within a three-day period, inmates will be allowed to speak once with their relatives over mobile phones for five minutes. During the same period, relatives will also be allowed one visit. Typically, inmates get the opportunity to meet family members once every 15 days.
Faruk Ahmed further said that arrangements have also been made to receive visiting relatives, who will be offered chocolates and juice outside the prison premises.