A court in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, has sentenced former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to five years in jail in a corruption case
.
Zia, the chairperson of the country's main opposition
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), along with five others, was accused
of embezzlement of funds meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust.
Tarique Rahman, Zia's elder son and heir apparent, and four others were given 10 years in the politically significant case ahead of the general elections due to be held in December.
Rahman, the vice chairman of the BNP, has been living in London for the past nine years.
All six were accused of embezzling over Tk 21 million ($252,000) from foreign donations intended for a charity named after former president Ziaur Rahman, Zia's husband.
The four others who were also given 10 year jail-term are former lawmaker Quazi Salimul Haq, former principal secretary to Zia, Kamal Uddin Siddique, Zia's nephew Mominur Rahman and businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed.
Khaleda Zia became the Muslim-majority country's first female prime minister in 1991 after democracy was restored.
In the 35 years of her political career, Khaleda Zia has spent time in jail on a number of occasions. This is the first time she has been convicted.
Khaleda Zia faces a total of 37 cases, chargesheets have been submitted in 17 of them.
After skipping hearings some 143 times over the past six
years, Khaleda Zia finally appeared before the court on October 19, 2017, and
obtained bail.
.
Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of the Special
Court-5 on Thursday Feb 08,2018 sentenced the two-time former prime minister to
rigorous imprisonment. He read out selected parts of the 632-page
verdict.
"The verdict proves no one is above the law," Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Haque said after the verdict was announced amid tight security.
Tarique Rahman, Zia's elder son and heir apparent, and four others were given 10 years in the politically significant case ahead of the general elections due to be held in December.
Rahman, the vice chairman of the BNP, has been living in London for the past nine years.
All six were accused of embezzling over Tk 21 million ($252,000) from foreign donations intended for a charity named after former president Ziaur Rahman, Zia's husband.
The four others who were also given 10 year jail-term are former lawmaker Quazi Salimul Haq, former principal secretary to Zia, Kamal Uddin Siddique, Zia's nephew Mominur Rahman and businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed.
First female prime minister
Khaleda Zia was catapulted into Bangladeshi politics in the early 1980s when her husband former President Ziaur Rahman, was assassinated.Khaleda Zia became the Muslim-majority country's first female prime minister in 1991 after democracy was restored.
In the 35 years of her political career, Khaleda Zia has spent time in jail on a number of occasions. This is the first time she has been convicted.
Khaleda Zia faces a total of 37 cases, chargesheets have been submitted in 17 of them.
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