The High Court has directed the government to immediately move BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) for treatment, with the added instruction that a five-member medical board be formed to oversee her treatment.
The High Court bench of Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Razik-Al-Jalil issued the order on Thursday after hearing a writ petition seeking better treatment for the incarcerated BNP chief, reported UNB.
Advocate AJ Mohammad Ali, Advocate Zainul Abedin, Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, Barrister Badruddoza Badal, and AKM Ehsanur Rahman represented Khaleda Zia, while Attorney General Mahbubey Alam represented the state.
“The High Court has instructed the government to form a five-member medical board,” Zainul Abedin told reporters after the hearing.
The old Dhaka Central Jail, where Khaleda is currently imprisoned, received the court order in the evening, reported Somoy TV.
The court also suggested including Dr Md Abdul Jalil Chowdhury and Dr Badrunnesa Ahmed as two members of the medical board.
The other three members of the medical board must be doctors who are not associated with the Doctors' Association of Bangladesh (DAB) or Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad (Swachip), the court said.
Khaleda will also be allowed to receive treatment from gynaecologists and physiotherapists as per her preference, subject to the medical board’s approval.
She will also be able to engage any specialist doctor from outside the BSMMU upon the board’s approval.
The writ petition was filed on September 9 stating that Khaleda has been suffering from chronic diseases and needs to be taken to a specialized hospital for better treatment.
On September 16, a medical board formed by the government checked Khaleda and suggested she be admitted to a hospital like the BSMMU, though they said they did not find any symptom of a serious disease in her.
Khaleda Zia has been in the old Dhaka Central Jail at Nazimuddin Road in Dhaka since she was sentenced to five years' imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on February 8.
On April 7, she underwent some medical tests at the BSMMU because of her illness.
BNP has been demanding that Khaleda be shifted to United Hospital in Gulshan for better treatment.
