The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has upheld the six-month bail granted to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia by the High Court in two defamation cases filed against her.
The two cases were filed in Narail and Dhaka over the BNP chief's 'derogatory remarks' about freedom fighters and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
A three-member Appellate Division bench, led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, passed the order on Monday rejecting petitions filed seeking stay on the bail orders, according to a UNB report.
Advocate AJ Mohammad Ali stood for Khaleda while Attorney General Mahbubey Alam represented the state.
The High Court had granted a six-month bail to the BNP Chairperson in defamation cases filed against her in Narail and Dhaka on August 13 and 14 respectively.
On December 21, 2015, Khaleda at a discussion at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh in the capital raised a question about the actual number of Liberation War martyrs saying, "There're controversies over how many were martyred in the Liberation War. There're many books and documents on the controversies."
Reacting to Khaleda's remarks, Raihan Farooque Imam of Naragati in Narail filed the case with the Cognisance Court on December 24, 2015.
On January 5, 2016, AB Siddiqui, president of Jananetri Parishad, filed another case with Dhaka's Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court.