Bangladesh’s ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia on Monday received a temporary relief after a top court granted the opposition BNP chief a four-month bail in a corruption case, a month after she was sentenced to five years in jail.
Zia, 72, was sentenced to five years in jail on February 8 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, a military ruler-turned-politician.
The High Court in Dhaka today granted the chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) a four-month interim bail.
“The bench granted her bail for four months and simultaneously ordered authorities to prepare arguments on her appeal against the conviction and imprisonment,” a court official said.