SC stays Khaleda Zia’s 10-year jail term in graft case

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday stayed a High Court verdict that had sentenced BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia to ten years in jail in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case.

The court also permitted Khaleda Zia to file a leave-to-appeal petition challenging the High Court verdict.

A three-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam, issued the stay order after hearing two separate leave-to-appeal petitions filed by Khaleda Zia. 

Senior lawyers Zainul Abedin and Barrister Kayser Kamal represented her, while Attorney General Md Asaduzzaman and advocate Asif Hasan argued for the state and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), respectively.

On March 14, 2019, Khaleda Zia filed the two leave-to-appeal petitions with the Appellate Division.

Dhaka’s Special Judge Court-5 had initially convicted the former prime minister and BNP chairperson on February 8, 2018, sentencing her to five years’ imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case. It also sentenced five others, including her son and BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman, to ten years’ imprisonment each.

The High Court later extended Khaleda Zia's jail term to ten years on October 30, 2018.