Khaleda to be released soon

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia will be released within a very short time.Twitter

Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan at a press conference at the secretariat at around 1:30pm on Wednesday said BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia will be released within a very short time.

The government on Tuesday announced the decision to release the former prime minister from jail suspending her imprisonment for six months. Law minister Anisul Huq revealed this to the media at his residence on the day. The recommendation has been sent from the law ministry to the home ministry, he added.

The minister said Khaleda Zia would be allowed to receive treatment at her residence, but she won’t be allowed to travel abroad.

Khaleda Zia has to fulfil a number of conditions even after being released, the law minister said yesterday. "We have decided in the legal process, under the direction of the prime minister, that under section 401 of the Criminal Procedure Act, Khaleda Zia will be released on condition of receiving her medical treatment from her home in Dhaka suspending her imprisonment for six months,” the law minister added.

Considering the present situation, the minister added, sending her aboard for treatment will be ‘suicidal’.

The BNP chair has been in jail since she was convicted in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on 8 February 2018.