Govt to extend Khaleda's jail term suspension by another 6 months

The government will extend the suspension of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's jail sentence for another six months.

The Ministry of Home Affairs will issue a gazette notification in this regard on Monday (19 September), said Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal Sunday while responding to journalists at his office.   

"As per the conditions set by the court, the period is being extended by 6 months," he added. 

Earlier in the day Law Minister Anisul Huq said, "We have agreed to extend her stay out of jail by another 6 months, but the same conditions will remain as before – that she will not be able to travel abroad and will have to get medical treatment in Bangladesh." 

Family members of Khaleda Zia filed a petition to the Home Ministry on 11 September requesting the government to continue the suspension of her jail sentence. 

Earlier, Law Minister Anisul Huq had said that the government will extend the suspension of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's jail sentence in two corruption cases if her family files any petition. 

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government freed Khaleda Zia from jail for six months through an executive order suspending her sentence on 25 March 2020.

The government extended her conditional release from jail in the two corruption cases several times.

The former prime minister was sent to Old Dhaka Central Jail after she was sentenced to five years imprisonment by a special court in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on 8 February 2018.

She was convicted in a second corruption case later.

The 76-year-old BNP chief has been staying at her Gulshan residence since her release from jail. A special team of physicians has been overseeing her treatment.