BNP chief Khaleda Zia will appear in court if her physical condition permits, says her counsel Sanaullah Mia after meeting his client in prison on Wednesday.
Mia and another member of Khaleda’s legal team Masum Ahmed Talukder entered the old Dhaka Central Jail around 4:30pm and left an hour later.
“She respects the law and will appear in court if her health permits. She needs medical care as her physical condition has deteriorated,” Mia told Bangla Tribune.
Recently the government shifted the court of Dhaka Special Judge-5, which is hearing the Zia Charitable Trust graft case, inside the prison premises from Bakshibazar.
The courtroom has been set up in one of the rooms of the old jail’s administrative building.
On Sept 5, the special court convened at the new location, when Khaleda was brought to the court.
The former prime minister told the court that she was ill and will not be able to attend the hearings.
On the second day of the proceedings in the makeshift court on Sept 12, she declined to appear.
Khaleda skipped the hearing the next day as well when the court asked defence counsel whether their client will appear in court at all.
Counsels said she was ill and the specific reason can be only known after meeting with the client. They then pleaded to meet Khaleda, when the court ordered prison authorities to take measures.
On Feb 8, the same court convicted Khaleda for embezzling foreign donations made to the Zia Orphanage Trust. She has been serving a five-year term since then at the old jailhouse.
On Sept 15, a medical board, formed on request of the jail authorities, examined Khaleda and advised her to move to a specialised hospital, but said her condition was not too serious.
The doctors advised her to take at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Hospital, but the former prime minister prefers the private medical facility, United Hospital.