Sentences of Khaleda suspended for 6 more months

The government extended the suspension of the sentences in two graft cases against former prime minister and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia for six more months on Wednesday on the same conditions that she would take treatment at home and would not leave the country.

The home affairs ministry  issued a gazette notification to the effect on the day, the ministry’s public relations officer Sharif Mahmud Apu confirmed.

The fifth phase of the conditional release of Khaleda, who has long been suffering from multiple diseases, begins on March 26 as the ongoing six-month suspension of her sentences ends on March 25, said officials.

On March 1, Khaleda’s youngest brother, Shamim Iskander, submitted an appeal to the home ministry on behalf of the family for her permanent release and taking her abroad for treatment.

 The family’s appeals for taking her abroad have been turned down by the government on several occasions.

On March 16, the law ministry gave its opinion about extending the suspension of the conviction of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia for another six months on the same conditions. 

Amid the Covid situation, the government released Khaleda from the prison cell of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University on March 25, 2020, suspending her jail sentences in two graft cases, on conditions that she would take medical treatment staying at home and would not leave the country.

Khaleda was sent to jail on February 8, 2018, the day she was convicted to serve five years in jail in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case. 

She was also sentenced on October 29, 2018, to seven years in jail in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case.

On October 30, 2018, the High Court doubled her five-year jail term, handed down by the trial court in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

News Courtesy:

https://www.newagebd.net/article/166234/sentences-of-khaleda-suspended-for-6-more-months