Humanelaw

A prisoner is a person who is unfortunate of individual rights against his will following his conviction of a crime. According to this law, prisoners should not be treated inhumanely though they are the criminals. Most prisons categorize prisoners and place them in various units according to the categories.

Prisoners can be referred as POW (Prisoners of War), Political Prisoner (held in prison for their ideology) and a Federal inmate (murderer, kidnapper, rapist or any other). Prisoner’s rights are limited as compared to other human being. All prisoners have some basic rights which are needed to survive and continue a realistic life in spite of their imprisonment.

The rights given to prisoners are :

1. Right to medical treatment: treatment should be provided for serious medical conditions.
2. Right to freedom of expressions, communication, and reading materials.
3. Right to be protected from the system in case of rape or assault.                                                             
4. Right to freedom of religion.
5. Education should be given to prisoners as part of their rehabilitation and preparation for life outside prison.
6. Right to access to a court of law.
7. Right to personal property such as: cigarettes, stationary, a watch, cosmetics, and snack-food.
8. Right to drink safe water.
9. Right to file a civil suit against another person.
10. Right to food and clothing.
11. Right to not be punished cruelly or unusually.
12. Right to equal and fair treatment.

Third Geneva Convention was signed on July 27, 1929 to protect the human rights of Prisoners of War (POW). The most essential provisions written under this Convention are :

1. According to Article 5, these laws apply from the moment a combatant is imprisoned until the POW is released. If it is not known whether they are POW or not, they should be treated normally until their status has been determined.
2. According to Article 12, POW is the liability of the state not the persons who capture them.
3. According to Articles from 13 to 16, POW must be treated humanely, and their medical needs must be met.

Prisoner’s rights can be infringed for security reasons.