Human rights observers maintained that lower courts sometimes ruled based on influence from or loyalty to political patronage networks, particularly in cases filed against opposition political party supporters. Observers claimed judges who made decisions unfavorable to the government risked transfer to other jurisdictions. Observers alleged judges sometimes accepted bribes from attorneys or other court officials for bail or acquittal in criminal cases. Corruption and a substantial backlog of cases hindered the court system, and the granting of extended continuances effectively prevented many defendants from obtaining fair trials. During the pandemic, media reported many courts were closed and very few operated virtually, exacerbating case backlogs. In some cases, defendants remained in custody during the trial for longer than the maximum custodial sentence of the crime for which they were charged. Defendants who could not afford an attorney or chose to remain undefended were not eligible for bail during proceedings. The National Legal Aid Services Organization offered some services to defendants who could not afford private attorneys, but access to those services often required burdensome formalities and extensive periods of time. Many defendants were unaware of these services. Trial Procedures The constitution provides the right to a fair and public trial, but the judiciary did not always protect this right due to corruption, partisanship, and weak human resources. Legal experts noted prosecution witnesses often did not show up in court to give oral testimony and there were insufficient judges to handle the pending case load in a timely manner. Defendants do not have the right to a timely trial. Indigent defendants have the right to a public defender, but in many cases public defenders were not well prepared nor adequately acquainted with the details of the case at hand. Trials are conducted in the Bengali language; the government does not provide free interpretation for defendants who cannot understand or speak Bengali. The government frequently did not respect the rights of accused persons to confront prosecution or plaintiff witnesses and present their own witnesses and Page 11