hostile to the accused falsely claimed to be lawyers and attended the hearings. The prison authorities, however, failed to prevent that from happening.

66. Additionally, in jail trials, defendants and their lawyers cannot communicate confidentially as prison officials are at all times present during their meetings. This is inconsistent with the right of the accused to adequate time and facilities to prepare their defense and communicate with counsel, and to defend themselves with assistance of counsel. This contravenes the accused’s right to counsel under international standards, which require governments to recognize and respect that all communications and consultations between lawyers and their clients within their professional relationship are confidential.42

67. Article 10(1) of the ICCPR requires that States guarantee that “all persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.”

68. Overcrowded prisons, torture and other ill-treatment, and inadequate health and hygiene facilities generally plague detention and prison facilities for all crimes. The predicament of individuals accused of blasphemy, who are detained pending trial or appeal or serving sentences for blasphemy, is compounded by the security and safety risks they face as the offence with which the are accused or have been convicted also makes them also vulnerable to attacks. Special measures taken by prison authorities, ostensibly for the protection and security of those awaiting trial or serving sentences for blasphemy, have further undermined individuals’ right to humane treatment in detention or prisons.

69. Ostensibly as a measure to protect those awaiting trial on blasphemy charges and those serving sentences following conviction for blasphemy, individuals have been held in individual cells separate from other detainees. Usually, the block of cells in which they are held (referred to as “high security barracks”) is at a distance from other prison cells, and they are barred from speaking or interacting with other detainees. In many cases, they also have been prohibited from leaving their cells for exercise or fresh air, recreation or exercise.

70. In cases that are “high-profile”, cells of such individuals have been monitored at all times by CCTV cameras. In addition, facilities such as the provision to cook their own detainees,43 food, which are available to other are denied to many blasphemy accused, purportedly for their own security. In some cases, detainees accused of blasphemy are discouraged from keeping their own books, especially their respective holy books.

71. Individuals accused of blasphemy kept in solitary confinement recounted to the ICJ some elements of their daily struggle to maintain their sanity. A 28-year old man, charged under section 295-C, in pre-trial detention for over two years spoke to the ICJ about the suffering faced by him and others

There are terrorists, serial killers and rapists in the same prison who have more rights than us –they have friends, they can chat over a game of cards or a cup of tea, they can feel the sun and breathe fresh air. Is a mere allegation of blasphemy so much worse than we have been stripped of all our rights? I environment44 don’t know how long before our minds start rotting in this

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