Bangladesh currently has at least 407 foreign nationals in its prisons from 15 countries, facing convictions for offences ranging from drug and human trafficking to gold smuggling and illegal Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) operations. Indians account for more than half of these prisoners, and many have reportedly completed their sentences but remain in custody while awaiting repatriation, according to a Bangladeshi media report.
India has the highest number of foreign prisoners in Bangladesh, with 238 inmates, including 168 who have finished their sentences but are still detained because arrangements for their return have not been finalised, The Daily Star reported on Friday.
However, an official from the Consular Wing of the High Commission of India in Dhaka told the newspaper that only 25 verified Indian nationals who had completed their prison terms were awaiting repatriation.
The main challenge appears to be establishing the identities and confirming the Indian nationality of the prisoners.
According to the Indian official, Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry had provided lists identifying 121 prisoners as Indian nationals who had completed their sentences. However, the personal details available for most of them were inadequate to verify their nationality.
The official said the Indian High Commission had requested access to the prisoners to establish their identities. It was awaiting a response from Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry, while verification procedures were continuing in some cases.
In June, the Press Trust of India reported that 148 Indians were among 152 foreign nationals in Bangladeshi prisons awaiting repatriation after completing their sentences, based on prison statistics published six months earlier.
An official had said at the time that delays in identification, along with bureaucratic and diplomatic inaction, were prolonging their detention.
Prisoners from Myanmar form the second-largest group of foreign inmates in Bangladesh, with 133 people behind bars. However, only one has completed their sentence and is awaiting repatriation, according to The Daily Star.
The remaining foreign prisoners include six Nigerians and three each from Pakistan and Malaysia.
Foreign inmates are reportedly housed in separate cells for security reasons, with CCTV cameras monitoring areas outside their wards.
Prison officials told The Daily Star that keeping foreign nationals in custody after they have completed their sentences was creating logistical challenges and adding to the government’s expenses.
