Khaleda Zia freed for 6 more months

The government has extended the suspension of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's sentence for six more months on condition that she will not travel abroad during this time.

Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan told Prothom Alo on Monday that prime minister Sheikh Hasina has approved the proposal of suspension of the sentence. The law ministry’s opinion was also sent with the proposal.

The suspension was granted under section 401(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 on condition that she will take specialised treatment in the country and would not travel abroad.

The former prime minister’s brother Shamim Iskandar on 3 March visited the home minister Asaduzzaman Khan and appealed to the ministry seeking suspension of the sentence.

He applied for remitting Khaleda’s sentence and taking necessary measures to ensure advanced treatment for her. The application also sought relaxation of conditions.

The government freed Khaleda Zia from jail on 25 March last year on certain conditions for six months in an executive order. The government extended her release for six more months on 15 September last year.

Khaleda Zia has been staying at a house, ‘Feroza’, at Gulshan since her release. A security guard of the house told Prothom Alo on 23 February that family members of Khaleda Zia and physicians often come to see her. Party men do not go here.

A special court convicted Khaleda Zia in Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on 8 February 2018. She was sentenced to five years' imprisonment in the case. The High Court later extended Khaleda Zia's prison term to 10 years.