Appeal for Khaleda’s Release with Law Ministry: Home Minister

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said on Monday that the family's appeal for the temporary release of BNP Chairman Khaled Zia from jail was sent to the Ministry of Law for his legal opinion.

"They will take the next step," he said following the installation of the Hajj Service Booth at the Agargaon Passport Directorate.

Kamal explained that his ministry has no power to free the former prime minister and that the family of Khaleda will push the court to do so.

“That’s why we’ve forwarded the appeal to Law Ministry for its opinion,” he said. “The issue has to be resolved through the judiciary.”

Asked about Law Ministry’s remarks that the matter is under the Home Ministry’s purview, Minister Kamal said: “The Law Minister cannot speak anything beyond the law, and we cannot cross the boundary. We’re doing what’s necessary.”

Khaleda's family submitted an application to the Home Ministry on Sunday, requesting her admission. On Saturday, her sister Selima Islam urged the government to release Khaleda on humanitarian grounds.

Khaleda, a former prime minister, has been in jail since she was accused of corruption on 8 February 2018 in the Zia Orphanage Trust trial. She was found guilty later in the same year in another corruption case, though her party claims all cases are politically motivated.

Since April 1 last year, the BNP leader has received treatment at the Bangabandhu Sheik Mujib Medical University.