Govt rejects Khaleda’s improved medical treatment abroad

Staff Reporter :
The government has rejected Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia’s application seeking permission for receiving better treatment abroad.

After scrutinising the BNP Chairperson’s petition that sought permission for receiving treatment abroad, the Law Ministry has its given the decision saying ‘no’.

Talking to reporters at his secretariat office on Sunday, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq said the ministry took the decision upon receiving an application from the Home Ministry in response to the request of the family of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

“Once a petition under Section 401 of the Code of Criminal procedure is disposed of, there is no scope in law to reconsider the same again.

We have sent our opinion to the Ministry of Home Affairs by explaining the subsections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 of the Section 401.

There we have opined that the petition disposed of under Section 401 is a past and close transaction, so there is no other way to open it again,” the Law Minister said in reply to a query.

The ailing BNP Chairperson has been fighting for her life for the last 52 days at a city hospital. Since then, BNP leaders and activists have been demanding of the government to send Khaleda Zia abroad to receive proper treatment.

According to the Law Minister, as the Prime Minister has said, if the current order is cancelled then she must have to go to jail and then she can take recourse to the court.

But, she (Khaleda Zia) has no scope to go to court in this situation as her jail term suspended through an executive order, Anisul Huq added.

When asked whether Khaleda Zia’s sentence will be suspended or canceled, he replied, “It would be inhumane to cancel it and it will not be cancelled.”

Earlier on Saturday, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said that there were legal complications regarding allowing BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to be taken abroad for treatment.

The Home Minister said that Khaleda Zia was convicted in several cases and she had been in jail. But following the appeal of her relatives, the Prime Minister suspended her sentence and arranged treatment at home.

Arrangements have been made for her to receive the best treatment possible, he said at an event at the Institute of Diploma Engineers Bangladesh in Dhaka.

He said that Khaleda Zia’s brother made an appeal to take her abroad, but there were some legal complications.

On September 24, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir issued an ultimatum to the government to take necessary steps to send BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia abroad for better treatment within 48 hours, or be held responsible should anything happen to her.

On September 18, the government had once again extended the suspension of Khaleda Zia’s jail term by another six months.

The Security Services Division under the Home Ministry issued a notification in this regard.

Khaleda Zia has to take treatment staying at her Dhaka residence and she will not be allowed to go abroad during this period, said the notification.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, who has been undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital in Dhaka, was transferred to the Coronary Care Unit from a cabin on Friday afternoon.

‘Khaleda Zia was transferred to the CCU in the afternoon as per the recommendation of her medical board,’ said her personal physician AZM Zahid Hossain.

The 78-year-old former prime minister has been suffering from various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, kidney, lung, heart, and eye problems.

Meanwhile, BNP’s Legal Affairs Secretary Barrister Kayser Kamal, who is also a counsel for BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, in a reaction, said the government’s decision on Begum Khaleda Zia’s advanced medical treatment abroad has again proven that there is no ‘rule of law’ in the country.

The lawyers said this in a video message sent to the reporters on Sunday after the government’s decision came on Khaleda Zia.

Earlier on the day, the Law Ministry gave its opinion denying permission for BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to go abroad for her treatment.

Law Minister Anisul Huq on Sunday said that there is no legal scope for the government to grant permission for Khaleda Zia to go abroad for her treatment, and such opinion has been given by the Law Ministry.

Barrister Kayser Kamal said, “Through this decision, the most popular leader of Bangladesh, Khaleda Zia, has been subjected to a terrible joke.

Section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure clearly states that the government can release her by executive order.

Today, an ‘unelected’ Prime Minister took this decision out of political revenge, although there are instances in the national and international law to release the prisoners and get them treated abroad.

The government’s decision is the worst fraudulence with the nation.”

The lawyers said, “The Law Minister said in a public statement that if an application is placed on behalf of Khaleda Zia then it would be considered.

Khaleda Zia’s brother placed an application on September 25 in view of his public statement.

However, they (the government) considered the application politically rather than legally and we can see the result of political vendetta in today’s decision.”

Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is receiving treatment at Evercare Hospital in the capital for 52 days. Her family wants to take her abroad for better treatment.

Khaleda Zia was sent to jail on February 8 in 2018 after being convicted in a corruption case.

The government suspended her sentence on March 25 in 2020 by an executive order and released her on conditions.

Later the tenure of the executive order was extended several times.