Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has said if graft case convict Khaleda Zia wants to go abroad for treatment, she would have to appear before the court to take permission.
"If Khaleda Zia wants to go abroad for treatment, she will have to go to court. There is no scope for us to interfere to court matters," she told an interview with Voice of America (VOA) on September 27 in Washington DC.
VOA Bangla's chief ShatarupaBarua interviewed the premier during her visit to Washington DC. The international media outlet published reports and aired a viedo recording of the interview on its Bangla service website today.
"If Khaleda Zia has to go abroad for treatment, the permission I gave her to stay home by suspending her sentence would have to be withdrawn. She will have to go back to the jail again and appear before the court. She will have to appeal to the court. If the court gives order, then she can go. This is reality," the premier said.
In reply to a query, Sheikh Hasina questioned which country in the world it has been possible to send a convicted person abroad for medical treatment.
"Which country will allow this?" she said.
"We have done what we could. With the authority of the government her sentence has been suspended and she has been allowed to stay at home and undergo treatment and she is receiving treatment at Bangladesh's costliest hospital," she said.
Khaleda Zia was imprisoned on February 8, 2018 after she was convicted in two cases. She was in jail for over two years.
Khaleda Zia, who was convicted in Zia Orphanage and Zia Charitable Trust corruption cases, was released on March 25, 2020 by the government postponing her conviction on humanitarian grounds on conditions through an executive order.
On September 12 last, the government issued a notification to suspend Khaleda Zia's sentence and extend her release by another six months.