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Associated Press

A Bangladesh court on Thursday sentenced former prime minister Khaleda Zia to five years in prison on corruption charges. The conviction means that Zia, the arch-rival of the current prime minister, could be barred from running in December’s national elections.
Zia was taken to a Dhaka prison under heavy security. In a country plagued by dynastic politics, security forces fearing clashes had poured into the streets before the verdict, along with supporters of both major political parties.

Defence lawyer Mahbubuddin Khokan said Zia ordered him to appeal.
“This is unbelievable,” he said. “I am confident she will come out of jail.”
Zia was convicted of embezzling some US$250,000 in donations meant for an orphanage trust established when she was last prime minister, from 2001-2006.
Judge Mohammed Akhtaruzzaman, who announced the verdict in a courtroom in Dhaka’s Old City, also sentenced Zia’s son, Tarique Rahman, and four others to 10 years in prison for involvement in the crime. All can appeal their convictions.

Bangladesh law says anyone imprisoned for more than two years cannot run for office for the next five years, but Law Minister Anisul Huq said the final decision rests with the courts.
“It’s up to the appeals court to decide whether she will be eligible to run,” he said after the verdict.
Ruhul Kabir Rizbi, a close Zia aide, rejected the verdict, saying the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was looking for a way to weaken Zia politically. The opposition has accused the government of arresting hundreds of supporters before the verdict.
Zia faced a maximum sentence of life in prison, but the judge said he took into consideration the 72-year-old’s health and her “social status”, an apparent reference to her time as prime minister.
Zia faces more than 30 other charges, ranging from corruption to sedition. Rahman, her son and heir-apparent, lives in London. He was tried in absentia, along with two other people.

Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy but its politics is deeply fractious, with Hasina and Zia ruling the country alternately since 1991, when democracy was restored.
Both women emerged from political dynasties. Zia is the widow of Ziaur Rahman, a general-turned-president who was assassinated in 1981. Hasina is the daughter of Mujibur Rahman, the country’s first president who was assassinated in 1975.
In the last election in 2014, Zia’s party and its political allies boycotted the race, allowing Hasina to return to power with a landslide victory.


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Bangladesh

Former Bangladesh PM Zia sentenced to five years in prison for corruption

Khaleda Zia arriving at court to hear the verdict in her corruption case in Dhaka on February 8, 2018. Photo: AFP

(180118) -- DHAKA, Jan. 18, 2018 (Xinhua) -- The motorcade of opposition leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia heads to a court in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, Jan. 17, 2018. Khaleda Zia on Wednesday attended a hearing at a court in Dhaka for two graft cases and made a plea to defer scheduled Thursday proceedings to next week. (Xinhua/Salim Reza) (zjy)

Soldiers of Rapid Action Battalion of Bangladesh stand guard on a street in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. Bangladesh was on high alert ahead of a verdict Thursday against opposition leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in a politically sensitive corruption case. (AP Photo/A.M.Ahad)

Supporters of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) shout slogans outside a court in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. Bangladesh is on high alert ahead of a verdict against opposition leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who is also chairperson of BNP, in a politically sensitive corruption case. (AP Photo/A.M.Ahad)

Bangladesh court upholds 139 death sentences for mutiny

Soldiers take positions near the headquarters of Bangladesh Rifles in Dhaka. Photo: AP

In this Feb. 25, 2009 file photo, Bangladeshi civilians take shelter in a garage as firing continues near the headquarters of Bangladesh Rifles in Dhaka. In 2013, a trial court sentenced 152 people to death, but in response to an appeal, the High Court commuted the sentences for eight of them to life in prison and acquitted four others. Another man died during the 370 days of proceedings before Monday's verdict. A total of 846 people, mostly border guards, are facing trial. (AP Photo/Pavel Rahman, File)

(171127) -- DHAKA, Nov. 27, 2017 (Xinhua) -- Bangladeshi security members stand guard around Bangladeshi Supreme Court in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, ahead of mutiny trial verdict on Nov. 27, 2017. A High Court Division Bench in Bangladesh has upheld penalty for hundreds in a mutiny case and in its observation recommended a fresh probe into the failure of the intelligence for the carnage which left 74 people dead including 57 officers deputed from the Army. (Xinhua/Salim Reza) (swt)

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