Prisoners are given minimum substance allowance. It is alleged that food supply for prisoners is inadequate and sub-standard.34 The prisoners are deprived from health care and medical facility due to absence of prison hospital except 12 prisons centres out of 68. In practice, many people, particularly the poor, become entangled in the penal system where they face violations of their human rights. Masses of prisoners languish in jail awaiting trial and spend many years imprisoned without legal support. There are many reports of prisoners deaths in the prison while being under trail and most of the deaths in the prison occurred due to sickness, torture, suicide and other reasons.35 Allegation of corruption is also widespread in the prison management. The criminal justice system in Bangladesh is mainly based on punitive as opposed to restorative justice. Prisons in Bangladesh are governed by laws which date back to the 19th century. Prisons are managed under the Prison Act of 1894, its accompanying Rules, and the Prisoners Act, 1900, and the Jail Code. The Jail Code consists of the provisions of Prisoners Act 1894, the Prisoners Act 1900, the Identifications of Prisoners Act 1920, the Rules made under Section 59 of the Prisons Act 1894. In Bangladesh, prisons are still treated as punitive centres of confinement. But little effort has been made by government to change the existing laws and the Jail Code for rehabilitation of the prisoners and make the prisons as correctional institutions. It is stated in the state report that law provides for separation of the un-convicted and convicted prisoners and also separation of the juveniles from the adults in prison36. But in practice, this provision is frequently violated and both un-convicted and convicted prisoners and also the juveniles and the adults are kept together in prison due to lack of physical space. Article 14 Right to fair trial 35. Individuals have the right to equality before courts and tribunals and to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal. Although the main components of this right is guaranteed under 35 of the constitution of Bangladesh, excessive delay in justice delivery system, political interference and corruption in judiciary create obstacle in ensuring right to fair trial. In particular, political interference in lower judiciary is a big challenge in their independent functioning. There is widespread allegation against the law enforcement agencies for extracting confessional statements with the use of force and torture in violation of legal norms. Absence of adequate legal aid to the poor litigants may vitiate fair trial principles. The general rule in criminal cases is that all inquiries and trial should be conducted in the presence of the accused person. But in Bangladesh, trial in absentia is allowed, which goes against spirit of the article 14 of the ICCPR. It is also one of the attributes of the fair trial that the accused person is given adequate opportunity to defend himself. But this opportunity will have no meaning if the accused is not informed of the accusation against him. But in fact many public prosecutors lack both skill and knowledge adequately to prepare defence because they are appointed on partisan basis. Although the Legal Aid Act, 2006 of Bangladesh makes provision for legal aid in both civil and criminal cases, the national legal aid fund has remain unutilized due to lack of 34 M. Anwarul Aziz Kanak and Muhammad Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury, 'The Present Rights of Prisoners in Bangladesh: Disparity between Law and Practice', The International Journal of Social Science, 2014, Vol. 20, No. 1. 35 Advocate Shahanur Islam, 'Reforms of Prisons Law in Bangladesh: Need for Comprehensive Approach', available at www.internationalcure.org/documents/pdf/201 36 Para 115 of the State Report 18