Release Khaleda, let her go abroad for treatment

The UN rights chief Volker Turk has urged Bangladesh government to release BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia for urgent medical treatment outside the country.

Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, in a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Khaleda's release would be seen as "an important step towards  political dialogue and reconciliation".

"I appeal to your government  to consider her release to enable her to receive the urgent and  specialised medical care that she requires outside of the country," he  wrote in the letter dated November 1 and seen by AFP.

Bangladeshi doctors have said that Khaleda, who was twice prime minister, was at "high risk" of dying without medical intervention overseas after the Hasina government rejected pleas to let her leave.

Khaleda has advanced liver cirrhosis, diabetes and heart problems. Three US doctors carried out minor surgery on her last month, but the government rejected her family's request to allow her to travel to Germany for a liver transplant.

The twice prime minister was convicted and imprisoned in a corruption case in 2018. She was released in March 2020 with an executive order and on condition that she would not leave the country and must receive medical treatment in the country.

The country is gearing up for national elections due in January. Turk also asked the government "to prevent any arbitrary detention including detention that could be perceived as politically motivated or which might impact the environment for fair and credible elections".