Bangladesh courts trying detained former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on graft charges ruled on Monday that the hearings could continue in her absence, paving the way for her to go abroad for medical treatment. Hasina asked on Sunday for permission to allow lawyers to appear on her behalf after a government-appointed medical board suggested she should be sent abroad immediately for treatment. “Now it is just a matter of time when she will take the journey abroad,” said an official of Hasina's Awami League. “All obstacles on her travel have been removed,” said her attorney Shafiq Ahmed. “She is now set to go.” As word spread that Hasina might leave country as early as Monday night, hundreds of party leaders and workers gathered outside the special jail in Dhaka's sprawling parliament compound, many with flowers. Security has been tightened around the jail and party leaders said they expected Hasina to be released on parole on Monday evening. Ex-premier Begum Khaleda Zia said on Sunday she would not seek medical treatment abroad, accusing the government of setting a trap ahead of an election planned in December. It was not clear whether the army-backed interim government would block their return if sent abroad on health grounds. An attempt to block Hasina's return from the United States early last year failed due to protests and international pressure. Hasina is suffering from high blood pressure, eye problems and hearing impairment caused by grenade blasts at a rally in Dhaka in 2004, which killed 23 leaders and workers of her party. Her lawyers told reporters that Special Court Judge Mohammad Feroze Alam accepted her plea and said she could be represented by lawyers at her trial.
