Jail bait: Torture cases against 24 jail officials

Protesting prisoners said that jail officials whipped them and urinated in their food.

DERA GHAZI KHAN:

Prisoners in the Dera Ghazi Khan Central Jail protested against torture by guards. Cases have been registered against 24 jail officials including the jail superintendent in this regard.

According to eyewitnesses, Superintendent Jail Babar Ali, Assistant Superintendent Zahoor Ahmed, Head Warden Riyaz Ahmed, Warden Sajjad Hussain and two others were accused of tying up prisoners and whipping them in their cells every other night.

“They tortured us every other day and sometimes they put cockroaches in our food,” a prisoner told reporters on the condition of remaining anonymous. On Monday evening inmates began to protest against the jail authorities for torturing them. “Anyone who complained about anything was sent to solitary for days and others were given rotten food,” the prisoners said.

District and Sessions jusge said ordered that a case be registered against the jail authorities in this regard and a full inquiry has been launched into the activities of the jail. Prisoners told reporters that the protests started after several prisoners on death row said that their requests to visit their families had been denied. “When we complained they began to torture us. They would tie us up and whip us or they would urinate in our food,” a prisoner, Liaqat told reporters.

Eventually all the inmates began clamouring for the arrest of jail authorities. “After the media got wind of the issue and took up the case they began airing our protest. We threatened to go on hunger strike after they began to give us rotten or contaminated food,” said a prisoner Shah Nawaz Khan.

“We began protesting in the outer compound and locals in the area informed the press about what was happening,” Liaqat said.

Cases have been registered against 24 jail authorities and police officials said that a thorough investigation would be carried out on the court’s orders.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2011.