Page 3 - Prisoners

Tihar faces challenges as inmates exploit 5G network, tech upgrades needed

As part of the contraband seizures in the past 13 months, Tihar Jail has confiscated 616 knives and 6850 grams of narcotic substances

Russia, Ukraine exchange prisoners of war in deal brokered by UAE

Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war under a deal sponsored by the United Arab Emirates. Ukrainian authorities said that 230 Ukrainian prisoners of war returned home. Russia's Defence Ministry said that 248 Russian servicemen have been freed from Ukrainian captivity. The ministry said that the deal was made possible thanks to mediatory efforts by the United Arab Emirates. The massive prisoner exchange followed other such deals earlier in the war, which is nearing the two-year mark.

Russian poet receives 7-year prison sentence for reciting anti-war verses

A Russian poet was given a 7-year prison sentence Thursday for reciting verses against Russia's war in Ukraine, a tough punishment that comes during a relentless Kremlin crackdown on dissent. Moscow's Tverskoi District Court convicted Artyom Kamardin on charges of making calls undermining national security and inciting hatred, which related to him reading his anti-war poems during a street performance in downtown Moscow in September 2022. Yegor Shtovba, who participated in the event and recited Kamardin's verses, was sentenced to 5 1/2 years on the same charges. The gathering next to the monument to poet Vladimir Mayakovsky was held days after President Vladimir Putin ordered a mobilization of 300,000 reservists amid Moscow's military setbacks in Ukraine. The widely unpopular move prompted hundreds of thousands to flee Russia to avoid being recruited into the military. Police swiftly dispersed the performance and soon arrested Kamardin and several other participants. Russian media

Armenia, Azerbaijan exchange POWs in line with deal announced last week

Armenia and Azerbaijan on Wednesday exchanged prisoners of war, in line with an agreement announced last week that also promised the two countries would work towards a peace treaty and was hailed by the European Union as a major step toward peace in the tumultuous region. Azerbaijan brought back two servicemen, while 32 soldiers returned to Armenia, officials in both countries reported. Azerbaijan waged a lightning military campaign in September in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The offensive ended three decades of rule there by ethnic Armenians and resulted in the vast majority of the 120,000 residents fleeing the region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. In their joint statement last week, the two countries said they share the view that there is a historical chance to achieve a long-awaited peace. They said they intend to normalise relations and to reach the peace treaty on the basis of respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial

Packed beyond capacity, prisons in India have got more crowded in 5 years

Nearly 80% of the inmates are undertrials; UP district jails have twice the numbers they were built for

Undertrial prisoners should be produced via video-conferencing : Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has said undertrial prisoners should be produced before courts via video-conferencing (VC) whenever permissible, as bringing them physically to courts for every hearing was a cumbersome procedure. A single bench of Bharati Dangre directed the Maharashtra government to make necessary funds available to ensure that every court is provided screens and other video-conferencing facilities. The court order dated November 10 was made available on Friday. The issue was raised in a bail plea filed by one Tribhuvansing Yadav, who had claimed that his application for bail in the lower court was adjourned on 23 occasions, as he was not produced before the court physically or through video-conferencing. The bench noted that as per a report submitted by the inspector of prisons and correctional services in September, 39 prisons in Maharashtra have 329 sanctioned video-conferencing units, of which 291 were functional. The court, in its order, stated that if the facility is

Ten Israelis, 4 Thai nationals released by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners

Hamas released 16 hostages late Wednesday in the last swap for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel under the current Gaza truce, as international mediators raced to seal another extension to allow further exchanges and prolong the halt of Israel's air and ground offensive. The Israeli military said a group of 10 Israeli women and children and four Thai nationals had been freed by Hamas and exited Gaza. Earlier, two Russian-Israeli women were freed by Hamas in a separate release. Israel was set to free 30 Palestinian prisoners in return. Negotiators were working down to the wire to hammer out details for a further extension of the truce beyond its deadline of early Thursday. The talks appear to be growing tougher as most of the women and children held by Hamas are freed, and the militants are expected to seek greater releases in return for freeing men and soldiers. International pressure has mounted for the cease-fire to continue as long as possible after nearly eight weeks of Israe

Delhi govt sets off process to allow conjugal visits for prisoners

Conjugal visitation away from the prying eyes of prison officials is a "fundamental right", a petition filed in the Delhi High Court has said. With many countries allowing such visits, the Delhi government told the Delhi High Court the Director General of Prisons has forwarded to the state's home department a proposal about the rights of prisoners to seek conjugal visits. The city government has said the proposal will also be forwarded to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for issuing necessary instructions. A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula granted the city government six weeks to apprise it of the developments that follow its recommendation. The high court listed the matter for further hearing on January 15 next year. The bench was hearing a petition by advocate Amit Sahni seeking directions to the Delhi government and DG (Prisons) to make necessary arrangement in jails for conjugal visits by spouses of prisoners. The public interest ...

Prisoners not getting skill, educational training: Parliamentary panel

The committee said 70 per cent of prisoners in Indian jails were undertrials but not released because of their inability to pay fine amounts

US prisoners fly out of Iran in swap deal after $6 billion unfrozen: Report

The funds' release triggered an exchange sequence agreed after months of talks between the United States and Iran, who are at odds over Tehran's nuclear ambitions and other issues

Speedy trial can become effective tool to address overcrowding in jails: SC

The lodging areas of prisons across the country presented a "pitiful state of affairs", the Supreme Court Committee on Prison Reforms has said, underlining that speedy trial can become an effective tool to address the issue of overcrowding in jails. In its final synopsis of reports filed in the Supreme Court, the committee headed by former apex court judge Justice (retd) Amitava Roy has said living conditions in jails are not comparable to those envisaged under the Model Prison Manual, 2016 and require urgent and result-oriented attention. It said the occupancy rate of a total of 1,341 jails in India, including 644 sub-jails, 402 district jails and others prisons stood at 122 per cent as on November 30, 2018. The panel has referred to some commonly experienced factors contributing to overcrowding in jails, including stagnancy of prison infrastructure against steady increase in inmate flow, lack of initiative and drive of expansion or improvement in prison infrastructure, avoidable .

I-Day: Delhi Prisons DG announces remission for 1,300 convicts, 1,200 CCTVs

On the 77th Independence Day, Director General (Prisons) Sanjay Baniwal announced remission for over 1,300 convicts and said the department is installing 1,200 CCTV cameras for heightened security of inmates. A total of 1,387 eligible convicts were given remission between 15 to 25 days on their overall conducts during the jail term along with five convicts who have been recommended for remission of the remaining jail term on the ocassion of 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', an official statement said. Baniwal hoisted the tricolour at the prison headquarters here. He said various correctional activities have been designed for the inmates and one such programme for 720 inmates is on the verge of completion and their formal placement in the hospitality sector will take place shortly. Further, in the second phase of the skill development programme of the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM), 5,000 inmates can participate in training courses such as the tourism sector, among others, the ..

308 Indians including 42 civilians, 266 fishermen in Pakistan prison

Pakistan on Saturday handed over a list of 308 Indian prisoners, including 42 civil and 266 fishermen, lodged in its jails to the High Commission of India here as part of a bilateral agreement. The step was taken in consistence with the provisions of the 2008 Agreement on Consular Access between the two countries, the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement. The FO said that the Government of Pakistan today handed over a list of 308 Indian prisoners in Pakistan (42 civilian prisoners and 266 fishermen) to the High Commission of India in Islamabad. It further said that the Government of India handed over the list of Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails to the Pakistan High Commission, New Delhi. According to the list, there are a total of 417 Pakistanis in Indian jails, 343 of whom are civilian prisoners and 74 fishermen. Islamabad urged New Delhi to release and repatriate all those Pakistani civilian prisoners and fishermen, who have completed their respective sentences and their .

Tripura to release prisoners who have completed 66% of jail time: Official

: The Tripura government will release prisoners who have completed two-thirds of their jail term under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav scheme to celebrate 75 years of Independence, an official said on Wednesday. Earlier, five prisoners including dreaded criminal Amit Saha were granted special remission and released from the central jail in West Tripura in two phases. We have taken up a process for special remission of convicted persons who have completed 66 per cent of their jail term and maintained good conduct. This is being done following an instruction from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on the occasion of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Apurba Kumar Chakraborty, OSD to department of prisons, told PTI. Chakraborty, however, declined to reveal how many convicts lodged in different jails of the northeastern state have completed two-thirds of their prison time whose names have been taken up for the special remission which is scheduled to get completed by August 15. The special remission

Screen inmates' mental health to prevent in-prison suicides: NHRC

The NHRC has suggested screening inmates' mental health at the time of admission and constant monitoring of at-risk prisoners to bring down instances of suicides among them. The human rights body also recommended improving prison architecture and its environment to mitigate suicide attempts by prisoners in judicial custody. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said it has observed that most of the unnatural deaths of prisoners occur due to suicide. In an advisory issued to the central and state governments and the Union Territories, the NHRC emphasised keeping barracks and toilets, where most suicides take place, free of such objects as can be used for hanging, for instance, iron rods, grills, fans, and hooks. It also suggested encouraging visits by family members of the prisoner and or at least phone talk to keep inmates off the edge. The commission gave the suggestions in a letter which was also sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Bureau of Police Research and Developme

Delhi prisons order batons, pepper spray to control brawls between inmates

The Delhi Prisons Department has initiated the process of procuring electric shock batons, pepper sprays and other non-lethal weapons to be used by prison personnel to quell inmate brawls inside jails, officials said on Friday. The announcement comes after the prison department received criticism over the killing of gangster Sunil Balyan, alias Tillu Tajpuriya, inside the high-security Tihar Jail, allegedly by members of a rival gang. In the initial phase, the three prison complexes in the national capital will be equipped with 80 electric shock batons, 160 full-body protectors, 80 pepper sprays and 160 T-batons, according to a senior officer at Tihar Jail. Polycarbonate lathis, polycarbonate shield and helmets have also been ordered for the safety of prison personnel against unruly inmates, officials said. The use of non-lethal weapons was recommended in a report by officials detailing the lapses in security in Delhi prisons. According to jail officials, the proposal for the ...

Himachal's inmates to be covered under health insurance scheme: CM Sukhu

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday announced that the inmates lodged in jails and juvenile homes in the state will be provided Rs 5 lakh medical cover under the 'HIMCARE' scheme. He also launched a campaign for screening of inmates for sexually transmitted infections (STI), HIV, tuberculosis and Hepatitis. As many as 3,218 prisoners lodged in 14 jails in Himachal Pradesh and 1,278 inmates of juvenile homes, Nari Niketan and drug rehabilitation centres across the state would be screened and treated for these diseases under the Integrated STI, HIV, TB and Hepatitis (ISHTH) campaign by June 14, he said. Sukhu also provided Himcare cards to the prisoners at Model Central Jail Kanda near Shimla. The registration of inmates under this scheme has been initiated and a 100-per cent target would be achieved shortly, the chief minister said. Himcare scheme provides free healthcare services up to Rs 5 lakhs annually to families which are not covered under the ...

HC seeks report on medical condition of prisoners over 75 years of age

The Delhi High Court has sought a report from jail authorities here on the medical condition of all convicts and undertrial prisoners aged above 75 years. A bench headed by Justice Siddharth Mridul also asked that details related to any medical treatment being given to such inmates be also stated in the report. "The Medical Superintendent concerned is directed to furnish a fresh status report regarding the current medical condition of all the convicts and under-trial prisoners, who are above the age of 75 years (currently lodged in jail), including complete details of the treatments, if any, being provided to them, on or before the next date of hearing," the bench, also comprising Justice Mini Pushkarna, said in its order passed earlier this month. The order came on a suo motu case initiated by the high court in 2005 on the basis of a news item published titled '92 -year-old is Tihar undertrial'. The court had, in its order passed on February 2005, observed that the news report ...

Ukraine-Russia 'all-for-all' prisoner exchange to take place in stages

"The release of all captives held by the parties involves certain risks so all the steps to implement the swap deal will be "prudent and well-considered," report citing statement said

Centre to provide financial aid to poor prisoners unable to secure bail

The Central government will provide financial support to states in order to extend relief to those poor prisoners who are unable to avail bail or get released from prison