Bangladesh Supreme Court acquits former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia
The Hindu
Bangladesh Supreme Court acquits former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in corruption case, overturning 10-year prison sentence.
Bangladesh Supreme Court on Wednesday (January 15, 2025) acquitted former Prime Minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Khaleda Zia in a corruption case, overturning the High Court’s earlier 10-year prison sentence.
The verdict was delivered by a bench led by Chief Justice Dr. Syed Refaat Ahmed after reviewing 79-year-old Ms. Zia’s appeal against the High Court’s ruling on Wednesday (January 15, 2025), the Dhaka Tribune reported.
The Supreme Court acquitted Ms. Zia, the party’s Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, and all other suspects in their appeal over the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, the report added.
The Appellate Division noted that the case was motivated by revenge.
Ms. Zia was sentenced on February 8, 2018, by Dhaka’s Special Judge Court-5 to five years of imprisonment for alleged embezzlement of government funds in the name of the Zia Orphanage Trust.
The same verdict handed down 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for five other accused, including Ms. Zia’s son Tarique and former chief secretary Kamal Uddin Siddiqui. Each of the accused was also fined Tk2.1 crore.
Among the accused, Tarique, Siddiqui, and Ziaur Rahman’s nephew Mominur Rahman have remained absconding.
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