Govt didn’t contact Khaleda’s family about parole, says her lawyer

None of the family members of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia have applied to the government for her release from jail on parole, Barrister AM Mahbub Uddin Khokon, a lawyer for Khaleda and a BNP leader, said yesterday.

He said, “The government is making different statements about her release on parole, without communicating with her family or lawyers. The government has intentionally kept her in jail.”

He said this while replying to queries from journalists at a press briefing at Law Reporters Forum office on Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) premises.

Mahbub Uddin, also the secretary of SCBA, said he had worked for the release of Khaleda’s sons Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman Koko on parole during the regime of the caretaker government.

He said the caretaker government had contacted the family and lawyers, and applications were filed with the government in this regard.

“Khaleda Zia is very sick. But the present government has not communicated with her family and relatives about her release on parole,” said Mahbub Uddin.

Khaleda Zia landed in jail after she was convicted and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by a Dhaka court on February 8 last year in Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case.

The High Court on October 30 last year enhanced her sentence to 10 years’ imprisonment in the same case.

On June 14 last year, Law Minister Anisul Huq ruled out the demand for her release on humanitarian grounds for better treatment.

If Khaleda Zia is released on parole, it will be a serious breach of the jail code, the minister had told The Daily Star.