Bangladeshi ex-PM Khaleda Zia shifted back to jail

Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was shifted back to jail from hospital on Thursday for a court appearance in a graft case.

Prison authorities transferred the wheelchair-bound Khaleda Zia to the Old Dhaka jailhouse where she also appeared before a court in the Niko graft case, bdnews24.com reported.

The Anti-Corruption Commission had filed the case with Tejgaon Police Station in 2007, accusing Khaleda and 10 others of abusing power to award a gas exploration and extraction deal to Canadian company Niko during her tenure as the Prime Minister.

Brigadier General Abdullah Al Harun, Director of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) -- a government-run medical university cum hospital -- told journalists on Thursday that she was released from hospital as the medical board formed for her treatment gave her a discharge certificate.

He said that her physical condition was now stable.

Khaleda Zia, also chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was admitted to the hospital in Dhaka on October 6 for treatment following a court directive.

Khaleda was then taken to the BSMMU from Dhaka Old Central Jail.

She has been in jail since February after a court sentenced her over the alleged embezzlement of foreign funds.

The BNP has been demanding upcoming Parliament polls be held under a non-party government and release of Khaleda Zia ahead of the elections slated for December.

--IANS

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