Detained former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has alleged that she was 'forced' to appear in court despite of being hospitalised, reports and lawyers said in Dhaka on Monday.
"The doctors at the Square Hospital did not want to discharge me, but the hospital management had to send me back at the instruction of the jail authorities," Hasina alleged as she was to brought to the court to face the indictment hearing in a graft case.
"What is the reason for dragging me to court straight from the hospital, leaving my treatment incomplete This is nothing but mental harassment," newspapers and lawyers quoted the Awami League chief as telling the judge.
Special Court-1 of Judge Firoz Alam later postponed the hearing until April three following Hasina's complaints while the ex-premier was taken to her makeshift sub-jail in the Parliament compound.
Deputy Inspector-General of Prisons Major Shamsul Haider Siddiqui, however, said that Hasina was discharged by the hospital where she was admitted 20 days ago.
Square Hospital General Manager James Gomes told the New Age newspaper that Hasina was discharged as 'she is fit now'.
"She does not need to stay here any more as an indoor patient," Gomes was quoted as saying by the daily.
But the Age quoting another physician at the hospital, also a member of the medical team treating Hasina, said the ex-premier was discharged though she did not fully recover and some of her tests remained incomplete.
The former premier complained about the way she was treated in the Square Hospital, saying that the treatment was a 'farce'.
"My left eye has almost gone blind. It could have been cured had the treatment been started timely. My left ear is also losing its capacity for hearing," she told the court.
Once again Hasina expressed doubts on Sunday over getting justice.
"Where should I go to get justice? Who to ask for justice? I do not know how much you will be able to deliver justice."
Hasina was arrested on July 16 last year in connection with an extortion case as part of a massive anti-graft campaign spearheaded by the interim government installed with crucial military supports following the proclamation of the state of emergency on January 11.
The campaign has so far seen the detention or imprisonment of over 80 influential people, mostly politicians, including her arch rival Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh Nationalist Party.