All entities within the criminal justice system have agreed that individuals currently in custody pending trial must remain in custody.
There are currently 435 individuals in custody pending trial.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the ‘Bandhu Forum’ organised by the Prosecutor General's Office to address issues related to detention, Prosecutor General Abbas Shareef acknowledged the concerns surrounding pre-trial detention. However, he stated that such measures cannot be entirely halted for the safety and security of society. He also noted that more individuals are being held without trial than the capacity of prisons.
"My long-term goal is to identify and address gaps in the justice system in a targeted manner. The end result will be to gain public confidence in this system. We have also identified others issues within the system, and we are taking some steps to address them, with more steps to follow,” the Prosecutor General said.
The forum included a panel discussion with the participation of heads of all institutions involved in the criminal justice system, with the exception of judicial courts. The discussion was attended by the Prosecutor General, the Minister of Homeland Security and Technology Ali Ihusaan, the Attorney General Ahmed Usham, Police Commissioner Ali Shujau, Commissioner of Prisons Hassan Zareer, Defense Counsel Hamza Latheef and Bar Council Member Ibrahim Shameel.
Officials who spoke at the panel discussion agreed that while there are issues that need to be addressed in the pre-trial detention process, the current detainees are in custody for compelling reasons.
The panel discussion of the forum was open to the media, but the technical discussions were held behind closed doors. The forum aimed to identify issues faced by individual agencies regarding pre-trial detention, what can be done to address them using existing resources, and developing a systematic and long-term solution to these issues.
Discussions also included a broad range of measures that can be taken to facilitate expedited trials, the possibilities of monitored release instead of detention pending trial, and the extent to which agencies are prepared to implement such measures.
The Prosecutor General's Office stated that the technical discussions held during the forum will help ensure that solutions endorsed by the agencies are implemented.