Law Minister Anisul Huq has sent his opinion to the home ministry on the application seeking government permission to take BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia abroad for treatment.
“I have sent my legal opinion to the home ministry. The relevant file will be sent to the prime minister. Under the rules of business, I cannot disclose my opinion until the prime minister sees it,” Anisul told The Daily Star.
Replying to a question, he said, “I have given my opinion considering all the legal precedence. What I said earlier about the demand for allowing Khaleda Zia to go abroad is right. There is no legal support on the demand by pro-BNP lawyers in this regard.”
The government released Khaleda on March 25 last year after suspending her jail sentence as per section 401 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Section 401(1) of the CrPC says, “When any person has been sentenced to punishment for an offence, the government may at any time without conditions or upon any conditions which the person sentenced accepts, suspend the execution of his/her sentence or remit the whole or any part of the punishment to which he/she has been sentenced”.
Later, the suspension of Khaleda’s jail sentence was extended three times and the government issued separate notifications to this effect.
The notification said Khaleda will receive treatment at her home and she cannot go abroad during this period.
An application was submitted to the government from Khaleda’s family last month seeking permission to allow her to go abroad for advanced treatment.
The law minister had earlier said the BNP chief would have to go to jail in order to get permission to go abroad as there is no scope to reconsider a decided case under section 401 of the CrPC.
