BANGLADESH. RECORD NUMBER ON DEATH ROW, OFFICIAL

the number of people on death row in Bangladesh has risen to a record 860, Inspector General of Prisons, Brigadier General Zakir Hassan said, with fast-track courts expediting cases as part of a government crackdown on violent crime. Fast-track courts, introduced by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Islamist-allied coalition government, had sentenced about 400 people to hang since they were created in November 2002.
"The number of people on death row has crossed 860. It is the highest figure ever recorded," Hassan said.
In the past five years, 25 people, all sentenced before the introduction of the tribunals, were hanged, Hassan said.