BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s conditional release from jail in two corruption cases has been extended by another six months.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given approval to it, said senior secretary to the Security Services Division of the Home Ministry Mohamamd Shahiduzzaman.
The Home Ministry will issue a notification in this regard later in the day.
On March 8, the Ministry of Law recommended the extension of the stay on the sentences of Khaleda Zia for another six months in the graft cases.
Earlier, an application seeking a waiver of Khaleda Zia’s punishment and extension the stay on her sentences was sent to the Law Ministry.
“We’ve recommended extension of the stay on the sentences for six months and the BNP chairperson will now allowed to avail of specialised treatment anywhere in the country,” Law Minister Anisul Huq said.
He said, “The recommendation for the extension was made as per the previous two conditions that Khaleda Zia will have to receive treatment from home and she cannot go abroad for that.”
From the Home Ministry, Anisul Huq said, the recommendation will be sent to the Prime Minister’s Office for its final approval.
Khaleda Zia’s brother Shamim Iskandar filed the appeal seeking extension on the stay of his sister’s sentences where he also urged for waiving her punishment.
On February 8, 2018, Khaleda was sent to the Old Dhaka Central Jail after a subordinate court sentenced her to five years’ imprisonment in Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case. The High Court later doubled her jail term.
The Former Prime Minister was found guilty in another corruption case the same year. Her party claims both cases are politically motivated.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government freed Khaleda Zia from jail for six months through an executive order suspending her sentences on March 25 last year.
She was released from the prison cell of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) the same day, and she has been staying at her Gulshan house since then.
On August 27 last year, the government extended her release for six more months.
