European Parliament urges govt to allow Khaleda’s treatment abroad

European Parliament urges govt to allow Khaleda’s treatment abroad

A member of the European Parliament has sent a letter to Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina urging her to allow opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia to travel abroad for treatment on humanitarian grounds.

‘We urge that you honour Begum Khaleda Zia’s human and advanced health rights considering her critical situation at this perilous time and allow her to travel overseas to have access to the highest attainable standard of healthcare,’ Ivan Stefanec, member of the European Parliament, said in a letter sent to Hasina on December 8.

‘I urge you as a long-standing Prime Minister of Bangladesh to adopt a humanitarian approach with regard to the necessary treatment of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia,’ the letter stated.

`In light of Khaleda Zia’s worsening health condition that is well documented, we appeal to you and your government to grant the request from Khaleda Zia’s family and allow her to travel abroad for urgent medical treatment,’ it added.

Stefanec also noted 2019 Amnesty International Report urging Bangladeshi authorities to allow Khaleda Zia access to the specialised health care she requires.

Khaleda was readmitted to Evercare Hospital in the capital on November 13, six days after she had returned home from the hospital.

Khaleda’s younger brother Shamim Iskander applied to the home ministry on November 11, urging the government to allow her to go abroad for better treatment.

On March 25, 2020, amid the Covid situation, the government suspended Khaleda’s jail sentences in two graft cases and released her from the prison cell of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University on conditions that she would take medical treatment at home and would not leave the country.