BNP leader Barrister Moudud Ahmed claimed that the party Chairperson Khaleda Zia has not been given division at the Old Central Jail in Dhaka.
Moudud said: "Khaleda Zia has been kept in isolation. No other inmates are there."
"She [Khaleda] has not been division in the jail and this is against the constitution," he said while talking to the journalist after meeting the BNP chief in the jail on Saturday evening.
He added: "We will go to the Home Ministry regarding this, and if needed, we will go to the court also."
Five lawyers-- Barrister Moudud Ahmed, Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar, Barrister Khandker Mahbub Hossain, Md Ali and Barrister Abdur Razzak-- met the BNP chief inside the old Jail.
Briefing the media, senior BNP leader Moudud said Khaleda Zia was physically unwell.
About division, the BNP leader said: "According to jail code, she [Khaleda] is supposed to get division because she had been the prime minister of the country thrice.
"She should also get facilities as a senior citizen of the country."
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Moudud said: "From the media, I came to know that the government said they have given division and a housemaid to madam [Khaleda] but we have visited her today, and it is all lies."
He added: "She [Khaleda] has been kept in a worn-out prison cell. She is being given food like any ordinary prisoner, she is not used to having."
"We will file an appeal once we get a copy of the verdict. This process might drag till Monday or Tuesday," he said.
On Thursday, the court convicted Khaleda and sentenced her to five years’ imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.
Five other accused in the case, including her son and current acting chairman Tarique Rahman, were sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk2.1 crore each.
Later, the administration building of the old jail on Nazimuddin Road was declared a sub-jail to accommodate the BNP chief.
In 2016, some 6,500 prisoners were shifted from the jail to the new jail in Keraniganj.
Khaleda Zia was earlier arrested in 2007 during the army-backed caretaker government. The speaker’s residence in the parliament area was then turned into a sub-jail for Khaleda.
She was later released on September 11, 2008 following a court order.This article was first published on Bangla Tribune
Thursday, April 25, 2024
