Khaleda Zia’s jail term suspension extended again by 6 months

The government has once again extended the suspension of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s jail term by another six months.

The Security Services Division under the Home Ministry issued a notification in this regard on Monday.

The conditional suspension of Khaleda Zia’s jail sentence will come into effect from September 25.

Khaleda Zia has to take treatment from her Dhaka residence and she will not be allowed to go abroad during this period, said the notification.

The Law Ministry gave its opinion in favour of extending Khaleda Zia’s jail sentence suspension by another six months on the existing two conditions, said Law Minister Anisul Huq on September 10.

With this, Khaleda’s jail sentence suspension has been extended for the eight times.

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government temporarily freed Khaleda Zia from jail through an executive order by suspending her sentence on March 25, 2020, with conditions that she would stay at her Gulshan house and would not leave the country. Since then, her release term has been extended every six months following the family's plea.

Khaleda was sent to the Old Dhaka Central Jail as a lower court sentenced her to five years' imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on February 8, 2018. Later, she was found guilty and convicted in another corruption case the same year.

Khaleda, a 78-year-old former prime minister, has long been suffering from various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, kidney, lung, heart, eye problems and post-Covid complications.

Source: UNB