Dhaka: BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, who was on interim release by the government’s executive order after being convicted in two cases of corruption, is unlikely to be sent back to jail before the upcoming national elections, said Law Minister Anisul Haque.
He said this in response to questions from reporters after a training session at the Judicial Administration Training Institute in the capital on Thursday.
Khaleda Zia’s sentence was suspended and her release period was extended by six months while maintaining the previous two conditions. On September 19, a notification was issued by the Security Services Department of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
With this, the release period of Khaleda Zia, who was imprisoned for the sixth time, was extended. His release period in the fifth phase ended on September 24.
According to the notification, as before, Khaleda Zia will receive treatment from her residence in Dhaka and during this time she will not be able to go outside the country – the period of suspension of sentence has been extended on these two conditions.
Former Prime Minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has been suffering from various physical complications including arthritis, diabetes, kidney, liver, lung, eye problems for a long time.
Khaleda Zia was sentenced to five years imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on February 8, 2018 by Dhaka’s Special Court No. 5 established at Bakshibazar Alia Madrasa Ground. He was arrested that day. After that, on October 30, the High Court increased his sentence by five years to 10 years on appeal in this case.
On October 29 of the same year, the same court sentenced Khaleda Zia to seven years of rigorous imprisonment in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case.
When the Corona epidemic started in March 2020, the government released Khaleda Zia, who was imprisoned, for six months, after suspending her sentence by executive order following the family’s request.
