Relatives 'being barred' from meeting Khaleda: Rizvi

BNP Senior Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed today blamed the government for reportedly barring relatives of the party Chairperson Khaleda Zia from meeting her in jail.

The jail authority has not been allowing anyone to meet her (Khaleda) for the last three weeks, Rizvi came up with the allegation while addressing a press conference at the party’s Nayapaltan central office in Dhaka.

“Around 21 days have passed, but no relatives, senior leaders and personal assistance could meet her (Khaleda) despite repeated appeal. The jail authority did not pay any heed to the matter,” the BNP leader said.

Claiming that the BNP chief is being denied of legal rights, Rizvi said, “According to the jail code, relatives can meet an inmate every seven days, but the jail authority changed it to every 15 days. Now the jail authority is not even following rule in line of the government’s instruction.”

“The government is torturing Khaleda Zia mentally by barring her relatives and senior leaders of the party from meeting her in jail,” Rizvi said.

Khaleda Zia landed in jail back in February after her conviction in Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case, where she was handed a five-year jail term.

Later, she was also convicted in Zia Charitable Trust graft case and handed a seven-year term.

In the appeal against her punishment in Zia Orphanage graft, a higher court increased her punishment to 10 years in prison.