Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in a 2008 corruption case, clearing the way for the ailing leader to participate in parliamentary elections.
The judgment is the latest judicial victory for Khaleda and her family, one of two main groups that have dominated the country’s politics.
A five-judge panel led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed acquitted Khaleda, her son Tarique Rahman and others, overturning jail sentences handed down by the High Court in 2018.
The case, dating from 2008, accused Khaleda and others of stealing 21 million taka ($173,000) in foreign donations for an orphanage trust set up when she was last prime minister, from 2001 to 2006.
“The case was so vile that both those who appealed and those who couldn’t appeal have all been acquitted,” defence lawyer Zainul Abedin said after the verdict.
It was gathered that in November, the 79-year-old Khaleda was acquitted in another corruption case in which she had been accused of misappropriation of 31.5 million taka from another trust in 2005.
Last week, Khaleda, who has battled health issues such as liver cirrhosis and heart problems, was flown to London for treatment.
In December 2024, a High Court acquitted Rahman and others of a 2004 grenade attack on a rally in Hasina.
Rahman is the acting chairperson of Khaleda’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party, BNP, and has been in exile in London.
DAILY POST gathered that Bangladesh since August has been ruled by an interim government led by Nobel Peace laureate, Muhammad Yunus.
The BNP has called for general elections to be held by August in the greater interest of the country, citing growing political and economic instability.