Unwell Zia given bail

HOPES RISE FOR FORMER BANGLADESH PRIME MINISTER KHALEDA TO BE FREED

BANGLADESH’S opposition leader Khaleda Zia was granted bail on corruption charges last Wednesday (16) after her lawyers argued her health was at risk, pav­ing the way for her to be released from jail.

Zia, 72, was imprisoned in February after being ac­cused of embezzling money intended for an orphanage, an allegation she said was politically motivated.

In a unanimous ruling, the supreme court upheld a lower court’s decision to grant Zia bail while she ap­peals against the five-year jail term, her lawyer Joynal Abedin said.

Zia’s lawyers said they told the court that she faced serious health risks if kept in prison and she would be treated at a top private hos­pital once she is released.

“She has become very sick due to long solitary confinement,” Abedin said, adding that Zia suffers from a neurological problem, ar­thritis and night-time fever.

The former prime minis­ter faces more than 30 other inquiries related to violence and corruption. It was not immediately clear when she would be released from the special jail in the capital Dhaka, where she is the sole inmate.

Abedin said she was offi­cially considered under ar­rest in at least six other cases and needs to get bail for each one. However, the su­preme court ruling is likely to have an influence on those proceedings.

“We hope she will be re­leased shortly. These cases do not have merit at all. These are all politically mo­tivated cases,” Abedin said.

Mohammad Shamsuzza­man, an orthopaedic spe­cialist at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, visited Zia last month as part of a four-member government team.

He said her condition was not serious but that she had developed back pain and her arthritis had wors­ened in prison.

Bangladesh has, for years, been locked in a showdown between Zia, who was prime minister three times, and her arch rival, current leader Sheikh Hasina.

Zia, who entered politics in the 1980s after her mili­tary dictator husband was assassinated in a failed coup, has consistently dis­missed the charges as po­litically motivated.

Her party boycotted 2014 elections in which Hasina was re-elected, but is expect­ed to contest the new polls due in December. (AFP)