Bangladesh’s ex-premier Khaleda Zia was on Thursday sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment for corruption, a huge setback for the 72-year-old main Opposition leader who may be barred from contesting the next general election in December.
The three-time former Prime Minister was sentenced by Dhaka’s Special Court in connection with the embezzlement of 21 million taka (about $250,000) in foreign donations meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust, named after her late husband Ziaur Rahman.
The verdict simultaneously sentenced Zia’s “fugitive” elder son and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP’s) senior vice president Tarique Rahman as he was tried in absentia in the Zia Orphanage Trust case. Rahman and four others have been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
“I will be back, there is no need to cry,” Khaleda Zia told her weeping relatives and supporters, minutes before the three-time former Bangladeshi premier was sentenced to five years in jail in a graft case.
Meanwhile, terming Zia’s conviction as natural consequences of her past deeds, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina accused her arch-rival of looting public property and burning to death over 500 people in a “demonstration of extreme brutality”.