Solitary confinement of `IS men' triggers debate

HYDERABAD: A memo filed by some alleged IS operatives in the Nampally court, requesting that they be removed from solitary confinement in

Chanchalguda

jail, triggered a debate whether terror suspects should be kept in solitary confinement. On the other hand, prison officials said the two jail-break incidents in MP, both by members of the outlawed Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), reaffirmed their resolve that IS operatives be kept in solitary confinement for security reasons.

All the six IS men -Ilyas Yazdani, Ibrahim Yazdani, Habeeb Mohammed, Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Amoodi, Muzaffar Hussain Rizan, Mohammed

Attaullah Rehaman

-arrested in June have been segregated and incarcerated in separate cells. Apart from not being able to interact with each other, they were reportedly confined to their cells all through the day and could not come out even for food. On Monday , they will file yet another memo requesting the court to treat them as other prisoners as a ruling on their earlier plea had not been delivered. Prisoner rights activist

Murali Karnam

, a faculty with

TISS

, said jail authorities in exceptional situations have the power to practice `Separate Confinement' but not solitary confinement. In separate confinement, a prisoner is kept alone in a cell during night-time but provided liberty to various things during the day . In solitary confinement, the prisoner is kept in isolation 24X7. In reality , such accused are kept in solitary confinement in jails in the name of separate confinement. If a prisoner is kept in solitary confinement for a long, they may end up with psychiatric problems.

“The accused are kept in a cell where there is no proper ventilation. They are not being allowed to go out even for food. Food is brought to their cells,“ M A Mujeeb, an advocate who represents Rizwan and Attaullah Rehaman said. “With winter setting in, they asked for blankets, but the jail staff told them they didn't have any . The authorities also refused to allow their family members to give them blankets,“ he said, adding that “solitary confinement is a human rights violation“.However, Chanchalguda jail authorities said they couldn't treat terror suspects and hardcore criminals like dacoits on par with other lesser dangerous criminals.

“At Chanchalguda jail, a highsecurity barrack was built last year to allow certain prisoners to be kept in separate cells. For security reasons and based on intelligence inputs, it is the prerogative of prison officials to take measures like keeping them in separate cells. IS operatives want all the accused to be kept in one cell, which is not possible for security reasons. Allegations of no ventilation and providing food in cell are incorrect. As of now, there is nothing such as solitary confinement,“ said Chanchalguda superintendent B Saidaiah.