The government again extended a freeze on the jail sentences of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia by six months again in two corruption cases.

Ministry of Home Affairs issued a gazette notification in this regard on Monday (September 18). The extension will come into effect from September 25.

Khaleda Zia has stayed out of jail for long following suspension of sentence in the Zia Orphanage Trust and the Zia Charitable Trust graft cases.

Last week, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs recommended an extension of suspension and sent the file to the Ministry of Home Affairs for final decision.

Talking to journalists, law minister Anisul Huq said the ministry recommended the extension on two existing conditions for Khaleda Zia to receive treatment in the country and avoid foreign trips.

As the tenure of the seventh extension will expire on September 24, relatives of BNP chief applied to the home ministry seeking further extension. The application was sent to the law ministry for opinion. Later, the law ministry sent back the application with its nod to home ministry for issuance of gazette in this regard.

During outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, on March 25, 2020, Khaleda Zia was first enraged on the government’s decision made in exercise of Section 401 (1) of the Criminal Code of Procedure (CrPC).

A Dhaka court, on February 8, 2018, sentenced Khaleda to imprisonment for 5 years in Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.  Later, on October 30, the High Court hiked her sentence to 10 years upon an appeal filed by the government.

Khaleda Zia, on October 29, 2018, was awarded seven years of jail in Zia Charitable Trust corruption case.

BDST: 1926 HRS, SEP 18, 2023
MSK/SMS