Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum, a pro-BNP lawyers’ platform, on Saturday declared a five-day peaceful protest programme demanding party chief Khaleda Zia’s immediate release.

#The protest programme will begin on Sunday and conclude on Thursday at BJAF offices in every district across the country, reports the UNB.

BJAF secretary Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon declared the programme at a press conference at the Supreme Court Bar Association auditorium.

‘Khaleda’s imprisonment has become a turning point for politics,’ said BNP Standing Committee member and senior lawyer of the Supreme Court Barrister Moudud Ahmed, adding that she landed in jail not for her involvement in corruption but for being an uncompromising leader.

Stating that the BNP chief was not sentenced for her involvement in corruption, BJAF president and BNP vice chairman Jaynul Abedin claimed the verdict was made as a reflection of political intentions.

Among other BJAF members, Barrister Bodruddoza Badal, Advocate Sanaullah Miah and Barrister Ruhul Kaddus Kajol were present at the meeting.

On Thursday, a special court here convicted Khaleda and sentenced her to five years’ imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

Five other accused in the case, including her son and BNP senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman, were sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment each. The court also fined the five accused Tk 2.10 crore each.