Dpa/Dhaka
Bangladesh's former prime minister, Khaleda Zia, has been moved from the jail where she is serving a sentence for corruption to a hospital in Dhaka, an official said on Saturday.
Zia, the chief of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has been brought to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University in line with a court order for proper medical care after her health condition worsened, said Abdullah Al-Harun, head of the hospital.
She will stay in a VIP room, he said, adding that an extra room had also been allocated for her at the state-run health facility.
The 73-year old politician became the sole inmate in Dhaka's abandoned old jail building after a court sentenced her to five years in prison in a graft case in February.
She was convicted of embezzling money intended for an orphanage, a charge her party dismissed as politically motivated. Zia is also currently on trial on another corruption charge.
During a recent court appearance, Zia reported from a wheelchair that she was sick and losing feeling on her hand and leg. She is thought to be suffering from arthritis.
A police car brought the former prime minister to the hospital amid tight security on Saturday. Several hundred pro-BNP activists chanted slogans demanding the release of the party's leader.
The High Court on Thursday ordered the government to form a five-member medical board to examine Zia's health and start medical treatment at the hospital immediately.
She will be allowed to choose a physiotherapist, a gynaecologist, a technician and a physician outside the state-run hospital only if the medical team approves, according to the court order.
Bangladesh expects Myanmar to keep Rohingya repatriation commitments despite coup
Bangladesh set to move 2nd batch of Rohingya refugees to remote island
Everest ‘grows’ as China, Nepal agree new height
Thousands of jobless Bangladeshi garment workers fear for future
Bangladesh mosque gas explosion toll rises to 24
Five arrested in Bangladesh after three children beaten to death
Bangladesh PM opens project for climate refugee families
Bangladesh allows late-stage trial of China's Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine
Bangladesh, Nepal warn of rising rivers as monsoon toll rises
There are no comments.