HC irked by police briefings over 'confessions' of suspects

The High Court has rebuked law enforment forces for announcing in media briefing the confessions of the accused before submitting such statements to the trial courts.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 20 August 2019, 05:53 PM
Updated : 20 August 2019, 05:53 PM

The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman on Tuesday said it was time to consider the matter and expressed the need for a set of guidelines in this regard.

The court made the observations during the bail hearing of Ayesha Siddiqui Minny in the much-publicised case over the murder of her husband Refat Shorif in Barguna.

Justice Enayetur said, "It's not just this case but in many other cases, we've seen that press briefings are conducted with the accused in tow. The law enforcement force says the suspect has confessed to the crime while the case is in its investigative stage."

Reminding officials that such statements are ill-advised, he added, "What impression does it create among the public? If a police officer says the accused has confessed, does it then not fall on his subordinates to ensure that the accused admits to the crime?"

"In this case (Refat Shorif murder case), how could the SP hold a press conference and say that Minny confessed?"

"After the SP's claim, does it then relieve investigation officers of their duty to prove the suspect had committed the crime? This can affect the investigation into the case," he said.