DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) " Bangladesh was on high alert ahead of handing down a verdict Thursday against opposition leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in a politically sensitive corruption case.

The case involves an orphanage trust established during Zia's last premiership in 2001-2006. The charges allege Zia, her elder son Tarique Rahman and four others were involved in embezzling $248,154 from the trust. If found guilty, they face a maximum punishment of life in prison.

Thousands of police and other security forces were patrolling the main cities and towns. In capital Dhaka alone, about 10,000 police and paramilitary border force were out on the streets manning checkpoints. Traffic was light on usually clogged roads.

The opposition has accused the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of arresting hundreds of supporters ahead of the verdict.

The leading Bengali-language daily Prothom Alo reported Thursday that some 1,200 leaders and activists have been arrested since Wednesday. Authorities have warned of tougher measures against any attempts of violence.

The verdict is politically sensitive because if convicted, Zia will be barred from contesting elections slated for December, which means her Bangladesh Nationalist Party will be seriously undermined.

Zia's son Rahman, who is a senior party leader and an heir-apparent in the country's dynastic politics, lives in London as he also faces several other cases. He is being tried an absentia along with two others. Two other defendants are behind bars.

Zia faces more than 30 other cases on charges ranging from corruption to sedition.

Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy but its politics is deeply fractious with Hasina and Zia having ruled the country alternately since 1991, when democracy was restored. In the last election in 2014, Zia's party and other partners boycotted the race, making way for Hasina to return to power with a landslide victory.