Prisoner rights: NGO asks court to allow videoconferencing

Court directs home secretary and concerned officials to arrange multimedia technology for inmates and their families.

KARACHI:

Innocent Trust, a newly formed NGO working for prisoners’ rights, filed a petition through its organiser, Muhammad Iqbal, asking for prisoners to be provided videoconferencing with their families.

Both under-trial or convicted prisoners should be allowed to communicate with their families as it is one of their fundamental rights, said the petitioner.

During Friday’s hearing, the NGO appealed to the Sindh High Court division bench to direct the home secretary and other officials to arrange for the multimedia technology for the inmates inside and the families outside.

Inmates won’t think of escaping if they were allowed to benefit from videoconferencing, the petitioner’s counsel argued.

The bench put the deputy attorney general, the home secretary and the Sindh advocate general on notice for an unspecified date.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 4^th, 2011.