No need of mercy to have Khaleda freed legally: BNP
Pro-BNP lawyers hope govt
wont oppose bail plea
UNB, Dhaka
Only a day after a call by BNP MPs to the Prime Minister for taking steps for release of the party chairperson on bail, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir yesterday said Khaleda Zia will be freed through the legal process, not by anybodys compassion. Khaleda Zia wont be freed by the mercy of anybody. Shell surely be released on bail as its her fair right to get bail, the BNP leader said.
Speaking at a human-chain programme, the BNP leader also said the government will not be able to keep Khaleda in jail for a long time as people will free her through a movement.
He called upon the people of all walks of life and all the democratic political parties to get united to restore democracy in the country and force the government to free Khaleda from jail through a movement.
Sammilita Peshajibi Parishad organised the human chain in front of the Jatiya Press Club demanding the release of Khaleda Zia.
The BNP leader said government has kept
Khaleda in jail to turn Bangladesh into a den of corruption and plundering. Had she (Khaleda) remained out of jail, they (govt) couldnt have implemented their blue print and turned Bangladesh into a failed state.
He also said Awami League believes in one-party dictatorship, not in democracy. Awami League introduced one-party rule by creating Baksal in 1975. Theyve now restored the one-party rule in a different style by destroying all the democratic institutions.
Fakhrul said there is now huge outcry over casinos and the ongoing drive against it. But Awami League has plundered our larger assets voting and democratic rights. We must get united to restore those, he said.
Our staff reporter adds: Amid discussion on the issue of BNP chiefs bail, pro-BNP lawyers yesterday hoped that the AL government would keep to its word by not opposing the bail of BNP chief in the Appellate Division.
The government said there is no objection if the court grants bail to the BNP chief. We hope that the government would convey the message to the court through the prosecution lawyers during the bail hearing of the BNP chief as she is innocent and she has the right to get bail, Khaledas lawyer Advocate Zainul Abedin said at a press briefing at the conference room of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) yesterday.
Earlier, when we approached the court for Khaledas bail, the state counsel vehemently opposed her bail petition. We urged the Attorney General not to oppose the bail petitions of Khaleda in line with the government word that it has no objection, if the court grants her bail, Zainul said.
Advocate Zainul Abedin, also a vice chairman of BNP, said, Khaleda does not want release on parole at the governments mercy. She wants release on bail from the court.
The government has kept Khaleda confined in jail in order to keep her away from people. All the cases have been filed against her in order to harass her politically, he claimed.
If she gets bail in two cases Zia Charitable Trust corruption case and Zia Orphanage Trust corruption she will get released from jail, he said, adding, The bail petitions will be moved before the court concerned very soon.
Advocate Zainul further said seven BNP lawmakers have met Khaleda and they said she is very ill.
Khaleda does not have any home abroad. The then 1/11 emergency government wanted to send her abroad on parole. But, the BNP chief refused the proposal and stayed in the country. Hence, we urged the government not to oppose her bail plea so that she can secure bail from court and get released on bail, Zainul noted.
Khaleda Zia has right to secure bail at this time considering her old age and sickness as she is innocent in the cases, in which she has been in jail since long. We, the lawyers community, also think that Khaleda Zia should get bail in the cases, the senior lawyer said.
On Wednesday, BNP MPs urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to see their ailing chairperson Khaleda Zia for herself and take steps for her release on bail.
We the seven MPs call upon the Leader of the House and the honourable Prime Minister please see for yourself Khaleda Zia, our three-time PM. Were sure if you see her, itll evoke your humanitarian feeling and youll feel the compassion for her, said BNP MP GM Siraj.
Siraj along with BNP MP Md Zahidur Rahman, Md Mosharof Hosen and Rumeen Farhana met Khaleda at the BSMMU and had nearly an hour-long meeting with her.
On Tuesday, there other BNP MPs Harunur Rashid Advocate Abdus Sattar and Amimul Islam met Khaleda at the BSMMU and they said their jailed chairperson Khaleda Zia is willing to go abroad for treatment if she is granted bail.
Khaleda has been receiving treatment at the BSMMU since April 1 last.
Khaleda is languishing in jail since she was convicted in Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case in February 8, 2018. She was found guilty in another corruption case later the same year.
The HC on October 30 last year enhanced her punishment to 10 years in the case after dismissing her appeal. Khaleda file appeal with the Supreme Court against the HC order in the case recently.
The BNP chief is currently facing a total of 37 cases. Among these, five were filed by the ACC and one for sedition. Besides, 14 cases were filed in Dhaka for hurling bombs, setting fire to bus at Jatrabari in the city and preventing law enforcement agencies from discharging their duties. Five casesthree in Comilla and two in Khulnawere filed for arson attack. A total of 12 defamation cases were also filed in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country.
Of the 37 cases, four were filed during the army-backed caretaker government rule while the remaining 33 cases were filed during the two consecutive tenures of Awami League since 2009, according to the BNP sources.
The High Court, on July 31 this year, rejected Khaleda Zias bail petition in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case, in which she has been sentenced to seven years imprisonment by a lower court on October 29 last year.
