Shamim Iskander, younger brother of former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, thanked the government for its decision of releasing her.

“We are very happy. We got to know about the decision on TV [of her release],” he said on Tuesday (Mar 24).

He said that her family members had requested the government to let them meet Khaleda on Mar 7.

“We are now contacting the lawyers and party senior leaders to discuss our next steps,” he said.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is scheduled to brief the press regarding the development later in the day.

The government decided to free BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia from jail upon conditions, suspending her conviction orders for six months.

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq made the announcement at a press conference held at his Gulshan office in Dhaka on Tuesday.

The conditions include that Khaleda Zia will receive treatment staying at her home in Dhaka and cannot leave the country, the minister said.

The BNP chairperson has been in jail since she was convicted in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on Feb 8, 2018. She was convicted in another corruption case later the same year, though her party claims both cases are politically motivated.

Khaleda has been receiving treatment at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) in the capital since Apr 1, 2019.