Khaleda's jail sentence suspension extended for 6 more months

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's sentence has been suspended for six more months, Law Minister Anisul Haque confirmed the matter to The Daily Samakal on Wednesday.

Earlier, Asaduzzaman Khan, the Home Minister, said the plea to extend Khaleda Zia's prison sentence suspension had been referred to the Law Ministry for review.

The information was revealed by the home minister while speaking to reporters after a discussion on the law and order situation on Independence Day at the Bangladesh Secretariat.

Khaleda was transferred to the Old Dhaka Central Jail on February 8, 2018, after a subordinate court sentenced her to five years in prison in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case. Later, the High Court extended Khaleda Zia's prison term in the graft case to 10 years.

In the same year, the former prime minister was convicted guilty in another corruption case. Both cases, according to her party, are politically motivated.

On March 25, last year, the government issued an executive order suspending Khaleda Zia's sentencing for six months in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

On the same day, she was released from a Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) prison cell, and she has been living in her Gulshan home ever since.

The administration prolonged the suspension of her sentencing for another six months on August 27 of last year.