Update
12 February 2018
Zia’s elder son, Tarique Rahman, was sentenced to 10 years in jail on same charges. He has been living in the UK for the past nine years. Four others who were jailed along with him are former legislator Quazi Salimul Haq, former principal secretary to Zia, Kamal Uddin Siddique, Zia’s nephew Mominur Rahman and businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed. Al Jazeera reported.
The court ordered that she be given the facilities of the first class division as per the jail code. The division entitles the prisoner to get a bed, a table, chair, a newspaper and a television in the prison.
9 February 2018
A Bangladesh judge convicted opposition leader Khaleda Zia of embezzling $252,000 meant for Zia Orphanage Trust and sentenced her to five years in jail on Thursday. She is currently the opposition leader and was formerly a Prime Minister for two terms. Her military dictator husband, President Ziaur Rahman, was assassinated in an abortive coup in 1981.
“She was given a shorter term considering her health and social status,” Judge Mohammad Akhteruzzaman said. She started serving her sentence in two rooms set aside for her, in the jail in the capital city. Her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders said that more than 3,500 supporters have been detained over the past few days and that her sentence was just to keep her away from the politics so that Prime Minister Hasina, daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, first president of Bangladesh, can win the election without any opposition. Khaleda is due to run in parliamentary polls set for December and can still do so if an appeal is pending. She can seek bail and appeal against the verdict. Zia’s son Tarique Rahman, a co-defendant in the case, and four of her aides were sentenced to 10 years in jail.
