The High Court has ordered to shift incarcerated BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to the Bangabandhu Shiekh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Hospital as well as gave the permission to avail treatment from doctors of her preference.

The bench of justices Sheikh Hassan Arif and Razik-Al-Jalil gave the order on Thursday (Oct 4) after hearing a petition moved by Khaleda’s counsels to move her to a specialised hospital.

Counsel Zainul Abedin, who represented the former PM in court, told the media that the court has ordered reconstitution of the medical board formed for Khaleda last month. 

The court has also ordered to move Khaleda to the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) as soon as possible, he said.
“We told the court for a hospital preferred by her, but it said ‘good choice is PG (BSMMU) Hospital’,” added Abedin, the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association.
A BNP leader, Abedin said that the previous five-strong medical board consisted of physicians belonging to the pro-Awami League doctors’ body, ‘Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad’.

The new team will replace three physicians with as many new members.

Abdul Jalil Chowdhury, a professor of internal medicine at BSMMU, and Badrunnesa Ahmed, an associate professor of physical medicine, will remain on board.

The government will not be allowed to nominate any current or former member or supporter of Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad, a pro-Awami League organisation, and Doctors Association of Bangladesh, a pro-BNP association.

The court also said Khaleda can choose a physiotherapist, a gynaecologist and a technician and a physician from outside BSMMU for her treatment subject to the approval from the medical team.

The petition was filed with the High Court on Sept 9, when a BNP delegation led by Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir met Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and urged him to move a specialised hospital.

Soon after the meeting, the government said it has instructed the BSMMU Hospital authorities for a medical board for Khaleda, which was formed on Sept 13.
A three-time prime minister, Khaleda is now serving a five-year term at old jailhouse in Dhaka after she was convicted of embezzling foreign donations made to the Zia Orphanage Trust.