Graft case: Khaleda jailed for 5 years

A special judge’s court has sentenced former prime minister BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to five years in prison after she was found guilty in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case.  

Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of the Special Court-5 in Dhaka handed down the verdict in the sensational case in his crowded courtroom on Thursday.   

The court also sentenced other five accused, including the BNP chief's elder son and BNP’s Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman, to 10-year imprisonment each. 

According to the special court, Khaleda was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment and she got shorter term for 'her health and social status.

On July 3, 2008, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case with Ramna Police Station accusing Khaleda Zia, her eldest son Tarique Rahman, and four others for misappropriating over Tk 2.10 crore that came as grants from a foreign bank for orphans. 

The other convicts are former BNP MP Salimul Haq Kamal and businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed, former principal secretary to the PM Kamal Uddin Siddique and Mominur Rahman, nephew of late President Ziaur Rahman.