Bangladesh’s Khaleda Zia departs for UK after years of house arrest

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Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia departed for the UK on her first foreign trip since 2017, seeking advanced medical treatment, according to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Thousands of supporters lined the streets to bid farewell, causing hours-long traffic jams on the route to Dhaka airport.

Khaleda Zia, 79, travelled via Doha on a special air ambulance provided by Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who is expected to meet her during the stopover.

Zia's son, Tarique Rahman, who resides in the UK, is expected to oversee her medical arrangements.

The trip comes five months after the fall of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, ousted on August 5 following a student-led uprising. Zia had been under house arrest since 2020, following her 2018 conviction in a corruption case that led to a five-year jail sentence.

Moreover, Bangladesh has revoked the passport of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 95 others in connection with their involvement in the violent crackdown on protesters during the July-August 2024 uprising.

Hasina’s government had been accused of mass killings and forced disappearances. The transitional administration has pledged accountability for those involved in alleged abuses.

Abul Kalam Azad Majumdar, the Deputy Press Secretary to the Chief Adviser, confirmed that 22 individuals linked to enforced disappearances had their passports cancelled, while the passports of 75 others, including Hasina’s, were revoked due to their role in the violence that led to the July killings.

The interim government, led by Prof Mohammad Yunus, had made it clear following his appointment as Chief Advisor that Hasina’s passport would be revoked as part of the government’s actions against those responsible for the crackdown.

The cancellation of Hasina’s passport is expected to create difficulties for her as she currently resides in India, having left Dhaka on August 5.

Additionally, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit has ordered all banks and financial institutions in the country to provide details of financial transactions involving Sheikh Hasina and her family, including her sister Rehana, son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and daughter Saima Wazed Putul.