DHAKA, Bangladesh: The former two-time Prime Minister of Bangladesh Khaleda Zia was awarded imprisonment for five years on Thursday for her involvement in corruption, a Court’s decision which would also bar her to run for next general elections due this year.
However, the 72-year-old Khaleda Zia who heads the Opposition Party – Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), denied corruption chargers, describing them as politically motivated.
The decision was announced by the Court Judge Muhammad Akhteruzzaman in Dhaka wherein violent clashes erupted police and supporters of Khaleda Zia following the verdict.
Khaleda Zia – who first remained as Bangladesh’s prime minister from March 20, 1991 to March 30, 1996 and then was re-elected for the Office from October 10, 2001 to October 29, 2006 – was accused of stealing $253,000 in foreign donations received by a trust created for an orphanage.
The Court also awarded Khaleda Zia’s son Tarique Rahman 10 years in jail for aiding her mother in the embezzlement.
Meanwhile five police officers were so far injured in clashes with supporters of convicted Khaleda Zia in Dhaka while the police used tear gas to disperse the protesters.
