Bangladesh's opposition leader Khaleda Zia to be freed from jail-minister

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia waves to activists as she arrives for a rally in Dhaka on January 20, 2014. (REUTERS File Photo)

DHAKA,  March 24 (Reuters): Bangladesh will release former prime minister and opposition leader Khaleda Zia, the country's law minister said on Tuesday.

"We have decided to release her on humanitarian grounds as per the instructions of the prime minister," Law Minister Anisul Huq said at a media briefing. "She can receive treatment staying at her home but she cannot go abroad."

Khaleda, who has been ailing, has been in jail since she was convicted in a graft case in February 2018.