In a sudden move government has decided to give conditional release to BNP chairperson and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia for six months. A recommendation to this effect has been sent to the Home Ministry.
Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs minister Anisul Haque disclosed this during an emergency briefing on Khaleda Zia at his Gulshan office on Tuesday (March 24).
The minister said it was decided by the Hon'ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to withhold her conviction for six months on two conditions. The conditions are that during her release time she has to stay in her own residence in Dhaka and second, she cannot go abroad.
He said that considering the age of Begum Zia, on humanitarian grounds, the government has kindly decided to withhold the sentence temporarily. When she will be released by the Home Ministry, this six-month count will begin. It is a legal process, pursuant to Section 401 of the Criminal Procedure Code and subsection-1.
Earlier, Khaleda's family had sent a prayer to the Home and Law Ministries seeking release for treatment abroad.
In fact, Begum Zia has been in jail for more than two years. She has been undergoing treatment at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital for more than six months.
Earlier, a case was filed in 2008 against the BNP chairperson for allegedly embezzling money of Zia Charitable Trust. In February of 2018 she was convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment for the case. Later, the High Court enhanced the jail sentence and ordered ten years imprisonment.