Khaleda denied justice: BNP

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Monday alleged that its chairperson Khaleda Zia was denied justice by the Supreme Court and its order staying her bail till 8 May has reflected the government's desire.

In his reaction after the SC order keeping Khaleda's bail suspended, BNP general secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said democracy and state have come to the edge of ruining.

"We've been denied justice by the Supreme Court, which was the symbol of hope and the last resort of people," he said.

"We're saying with anger that the Supreme Court's order (on Khaleda's bail) has reflected the government's will," the BNP leader was quoted by UNB as saying.

He said, "Khaleda Zia and we have been denied justice by the country's apex court."

Mirza Fakhrul gave the party's official reactions about two hours after the SC order on Khaleda's bail, at a press conference at the BNP's Naya Palton central office.

In the morning, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court ordered keeping BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's bail stayed till 8 May in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case in which she was sentenced to five years' jail by a lower court.

Mirza Fakhrul alleged that the government is obstructing the legal process very consciously to prolong Khaleda's stay in jail.

On 8 February, the Dhaka Special Court-5 of Md Akhtaruzzaman convicted the former prime minister and BNP chairperson and sentenced her to five years' imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case. She was then sent to old central jail at Nazimuddin Road in the city.