Former Bangladeshi prime minister Zia moved from jail to hospital

Bangladesh's former prime minister, Khaleda Zia, has been moved from the jail where she is serving a sentence for corruption to a hospital in Dhaka, an official said on Saturday.

Zia, the chief of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has been brought to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University in line with a court order for proper medical care after her health condition worsened, said Abdullah Al-Harun, head of the hospital.

She will stay in a VIP room, he said, adding that an extra room had also been allocated for her at the state-run health facility.

The 73-year old politician became the sole inmate in Dhaka's abandoned old jail building after a court sentenced her to five years in prison in a graft case in February.

She was convicted of embezzling money intended for an orphanage, a charge her party dismissed as politically motivated. Zia is also currently on trial on another corruption charge.

During a recent court appearance, Zia reported from a wheelchair that she was sick and losing feeling on her hand and leg. She is thought to be suffering from arthritis.

A police car brought the former prime minister to the hospital amid tight security on Saturday. Several hundred pro-BNP activists chanted slogans demanding the release of the party's leader.

The High Court on Thursday ordered the government to form a five-member medical board to examine Zia's health and start medical treatment at the hospital immediately.

She will be allowed to choose a physiotherapist, a gynaecologist, a technician and a physician outside the state-run hospital only if the medical team approves, according to the court order.