None can be forcibly released in parole: Minister

Law Minister Anisul Huq today said the government cannot forcibly release anybody from jail on parole if it is not sought.

“One has to seek parole through filing an application for release from jail,” he said while replying to a question from reporters about the release of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia from jail on parole at his secretariat office.  

Earlier on June 14 last year, Law Minister Anisul Huq had ruled out the demand for the release of BNP Khaleda Zia from jail on parole.

He told The Daily Star that “If Khaleda Zia is released from jail on parole, it will be a serious breach of the Jail Code”.

“The fact is that Khaleda Zia is now serving jail upon conviction and such kinds of prisoners are guided by the Jail Code. Parole is a system to meet the urgencies which are covered by the Jail Code. Therefore, the question for her (Khaleda) release on parole does not arise,” he had said on June 14 last year.

On June 13 last year, Khaleda Zia's lawyer Khandker Mahbub Hossain at a press conference had urged the government to release her from jail on parole on humanitarian ground for her better treatment.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Saturday said the government would consider releasing BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on parole if she filed an application citing specific reasons, UNB reported.

The 74-years-old BNP chairperson is now undergoing treatment at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) with pain in her legs and hands and other ailments, according to doctors.

Khaleda was admitted to the hospital on April 1 after the authorities shifted her from old Dhaka central jail for her proper treatment.

The BNP chief landed in jail in February last year after her conviction in Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case, where she was handed a five-year jail term.

Later, she was also convicted in Zia Charitable Trust graft case and handed a seven-year term.

Since then, BNP has been demanding immediate release of Khaleda Zia and her proper treatment at a specialised hospital.