The European Union welcomes the release on BNP chairperson and former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia. The EU, including through its Special Representative for Human Rights, Eamon Gilmore, had consistently called for her release, Virginie Battu-Henriksson, Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union, said in a statement issued from Brussels.
“With her health having severely deteriorated during her two years of imprisonment, we hope that Begum Khaleda Zia will now receive the necessary medical treatment. “The European Union reiterates its strong support to democracy, the rule of law, the promotion of human rights and the independence of judiciary in Bangladesh,” read the statement. “The European Union stands ready to support Bangladesh as it deals with the challenges of the coronavirus outbreak,” the spokesperson also said. The government gave Khaleda six-month freedom due to the coronavirus outbreak with the condition that she will stay at her home in Dhaka.
She has been in prison since February 2018 after she was sentenced to a total of 17 years in two graft cases involving Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust. Since April 1, 2019, she was staying at hospital of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.
