Former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia gets 7 years in jail in corruption case

Bangladesh's main opposition leader and Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia is escorted to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) for a medical check up in Dhaka on April 7, 2018. - Zia is serving a five-year sentence after she was convicted of embezzling money meant for an orphanage, a charge she had consistently dismissed as politically motivated. (Photo by - / AFP)

Dhaka: A Bangladesh court on Monday awarded a seven-year-jail term to former PM Khaleda Zia in a graft case. Earlier, the Supreme Court cleared the way for a lower court to deliver its verdict against the imprisoned ex-prime minister and main opposition BNP chief Khaleda Zia, rejecting her plea to halt the proceedings. Her supporters say the charges are politically motivated. The apex court rejected a leave-to-appeal petition filed by Zia challenging the High Court judgement that allowed a lower court to continue trial in the graft case in her absence. "The Appellate Division (of the Supreme Court) with Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain cleared the way for the court concerned to go on with the trial proceedings," a spokesman for Attorney General's office said. "The court concerned is to pronounce its verdict today," he said. The court on September 20 decided to continue the trial inside the old Dhaka central jail in Zia's absence. The 73-year-old former premier on September 27 filed a revision petition with the High Court (HC) challenging the court's September 20 order. On October 14, the HC rejected the revision petition of Zia and cleared the way for the trial court to continue with its proceedings. Zia, who is serving a jail term after being convicted in another case related embezzlement of funds of an orphanage named after her husband president Ziaur Rahman in February, has recently filed the leave-to-appeal petition with the SC challenging the HC order. Zia had skipped appearances in the case citing illness. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) lodged the Zia Charitable Trust graft case against Zia and three others with Tejgaon Police Station in August 2011. According to the case, the former prime minister and three others abused their power and raised funds for the trust from unknown sources.