FORMAR-PM BEGUM KHALEDA ZIA'S VERDICT TODAY

The verdict of former Bangladesh prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia in the Orphanage Trust corruption case will be announced today.

I am ready to face any situation. It is useless to threaten me with imprisonment. I will not bow down. I will not retreat from the struggle for establishing people's rights. People are being deprived of their rights.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia is the main accused. So, interest in this verdict is not from within the country alone but the international arena too.

BNP is one of the biggest political parties of Bangladesh. Khaleda's husband Major Ziaur Rahman was the President of Bangladesh. He is the founder of BNP.

After his death, Begum Khaleda got involved in politics. She was elected Prime Minister of Bangladesh three times. In 2014, she and her BNP did not participate the National Parliament election poll. The eleventh parliamentary elections will be held in December this year, which is why everyone's eye is on the verdict.

Earlier on January 25, the fifth Special Judge of Dhaka Akhtaruzzaman fixed the day for the verdict. He will declare the verdict of this case today.

If convicted, Khaleda Zia may be sentenced to life imprisonment. Also that the prison cell has been kept ready. 

Khaleda Zia did not do any harm to you. I did not do any corruption. If justice comes, I will be acquitted.

Political analysts say, the verdict may be a game changer in Bangladesh politics. As per article 66 of Bangladesh Constitution, Khaleda Zia will not be able to participate in the next election if she is jailed for more than two years. But she will get an opportunity to appeal in High Court against the verdict.

In her 35 years in politics, Khaleda spent time in jail several times but was never convicted. She had been detained several times during the anti-Ershad movement in the 1980s and 1990.

During the caretaker government on July 3, 2008, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a lawsuit against Khaleda Zia, her elder son Tariq Rahman and six others, for allegedly misappropriating 2 core Bangladesh taka and 10 lakh (21 million Taka) from abroad for the orphanage.