The High Court has granted a six-month interim jail to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia over a defamation case over allegations of disputing the death toll of the 1971 Liberation War.
Justice Muhammad Abdul Hafiz and Justice Kashefa Hossain made the decision on Monday.
The BNP chief was represented by AJ Mohammad Ali, Zainul Abedin, Kaiser Kamal and Sagir Hossain Leon. The state was represented by Deputy Attorney General Kamrul Islam Khan.
On August 5, the Narail District and Sessions Judge’s Court dismissed the bail petition in the case. Khaleda’s lawyers then took the matter to the High Court.
The former prime minister has been serving time in prison since being sentenced to five years in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on Feb 8. Though she has received bail in that case, her release has not been secured because of several other cases.
The Narail defamation case was filed on Dec 24, 2015 by Raihan Farooqi, a member of Narail District Council Ward-1 and joint general secretary of Noragati Awami League, reports bdnews24.com.
Khaleda had raised doubts about the death toll in the 1971 Liberation War at a discussion at the Engineers Institute auditorium in Dhaka’s Ramna on Dec 21 of that year.