People believe Khaleda Zia didn't commit any crime: Mirza Fakhrul
BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said people know and believe BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia didn't commit any crime but inhuman and cruel repressions have been inflicted on her due to political vindictiveness.
"She has been struggling consistently to establish democracy. The government has confined democracy by confining her," he added.
The BNP leader made this remark in a statement on Wednesday to mark the 5th year of her imprisonment.
Khaleda Zia was jailed in a corruption case of 'Zia Orphanage Trust' on 8 February 2018. In the statement, Fakhrul termed 8 February shameful day in the political history of Bangladesh.
The BNP secretary general said the Awami League government has illegally arrested Khaleda Zia in a false case filed as part of depoliticisation by the emergency government of 1/11.
She was denied bail and kept imprisoned for 25 months. A lawyer from abroad wanted to come to fight a legal battle but the government didn't allow it.
Later when her condition deteriorated, Khaleda Zia was kept under house arrest suspending her conviction on conditions. Despite advice from physicians, the government did not allow Khaleda Zia to go abroad for better treatment.
The BNP secretary general said these incidents prove that the government arrested and convicted Khaleda Zia in a false case to keep her away from politics in a bid to continue their illegal activities, corruption, looting and farce in the name of election. The government is spreading propaganda to humiliate her.
Terming Khaleda Zia as 'leader of the country', 'uncompromising leader' and 'mother of democracy', Mirza Fakhrul said the autocratic government of 1990 was overthrown due to the uncompromising leadership of Khaleda Zia. She led a successful mass-upsurge.
The parliamentary form of democracy started through her. The journey of modern Bangladesh started on the debris of autocracy and Bangladesh was known as the emerging tiger. In a landslide victory of 2001, the country was developed economically under her leadership. The country's GDP exceeded 7 per cent.