Govt to be held responsible if any harm caused to Khaleda in jail: BNP

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir today warned that the government will be held responsible if any harm is caused to the party Chairperson Khaleda Zia in jail.

"Khaleda Zia has been kept in an abandoned house. She has been denied of division facilities according to the jail code," Fakhrul said.

Fakhrul was talking to reporters after a meeting with the party's top leaders at Khaleda’s Gulshan office in Dhaka this evening.

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"Khaleda Zia is ill. She needs treatment. The government will be held responsible if any harm is caused to Khaleda Zia," Fakhrul said urging the government to immediately provide all facilities to Khaleda according to the jail code.

Fakhrul also called upon his party men to continue the movement in a peaceful manner until the release of Khaleda Zia.

Earlier, Fakhrul held the meeting with BNP standing committee members, vice chairmen and Khaleda Zia's advisors to discuss the party’s next course of action following the verdict against Khaleda Zia in connection Zia Orphanage Graft case.

During the meeting, BNP Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman made a video call, Fakhrul said.

Photo: Shaheen Mollah\STAR

‘Khaleda kept in worn-out prison cell’

Earlier, BNP leader Barrister Moudud Ahmed claimed that Khaleda Zia has been kept in a “worn-out prison cell” in Old Central Jail in Dhaka.

“Madam is passing her days in jail just like any ordinary prisoner. She has been kept in a worn-out room,” Moudud said after meeting Khaleda in jail this evening.

Even, Khaleda Zia has not been allowed to keep her house help, who was also taken to the prison along with the BNP chief on Thursday, Moudud said.

As per the Jail Code, she is entitled to get the division as a former prime minister, a former MP and as an opposition party chief but she is being deprived of such facilities, Moudud claimed.

Meanwhile talking to The Daily Star yesterday, DIG prison Touhidul Islam said as a first-class prisoner, all the designated facilities are being provided to Khaleda Zia as per the Jail Code.

Earlier, five pro-BNP lawyers, including Moudud, entered the jail on Nazimuddin Road in Dhaka to meet Khaleda around 4:30 pm.