KHALEDA JAILED FOR FIVE YEARS IN GRAFT CASE & TARIQUE RAHMAN 10YRS

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia enters the premises of the old Central Jail in Nazimuddin Road after she was handed a five-year imprisonment in a graft case today.

She will be kept at the day care centre at the old central jail.

The Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-5 on Thursday handed down Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia to five-year imprisonment and her elder son and BNP’s senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman to 10-year jail in Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case filed in 2008.

Tarique and others are also fined Tk two crore 10 lakh 71 thousand.

Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman announced the sensational verdict in a packed and high-guarded makeshift courtroom set up at Bakshibazar in the capital where Khaleda Zia along with two other accused — former BNP lawmaker Qazi Saleemul Huq and businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed — was present.

Three other accused — BNP senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman, former prime minister Khaleda’ ex-principal secretary Kamal Uddin Siddique, and Ziaur Rahman’s nephew Mominur Rahman — were tried in their absence.

After the verdict law minister Anisul Huq said the verdict proved that none is above the law.

During the trial, 36 prosecution witnesses testified.

Khaleda’s trial came to an end within two weeks after prime minister Sheikh Hasina announced in a televised speech on January 12 that parliamentary elections would be held in December.

Article 66(2)(d) of the constitution stipulates, ‘A person shall be disqualified for election as, or for being, a member of parliament who has been, on conviction for a criminal offence involving moral turpitude, sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release.’

Earlier on the day, Khaleda Zia reached the makeshift court at Bakshibazar at around 1:50pm amid chaos on her way to the court.

She was accompanied by her personal staff. As she entered the courtroom, the judge asked her personal security force members to leave the courtroom.

Khaleda, who left her Gulshan residence around 11:45am amid tight security, was surrounded by hundreds of party leaders and activists in Moghbazar area.

The party men defying police barricade escorted Khaleda’s motorcade up to Chankharpul, our correspondent reports.

Police intercepted the BNP men there who became agitated being barred and soon a clash erupted between police and BNP activists.

Police fired around 20 teargas shells to disperse the activists who also pelted the law enforcers with brickbats. Police arrested seven people including two women on the spot.

In another clash police fired teargas shells at BNP activists around 1:10pm when they reached Kakrail intersection.

Khaleda, however, reached the court around 1:50pm.

Meanwhile, judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of the Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-5 arrived in the court around 10:35am to deliver verdict against six accused including Khaleda Zia and her elder son and BNP’s senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman and four others — former BNP lawmaker Qazi Saleemul Huq, businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed, former prime minister Khaleda’ ex-principal secretary Kamal Uddin Siddique, and Ziaur Rahman’s nephew Mominur Rahman.

Ahead of the verdict, the government tightened security across the country arresting several thousand BNP leaders and activists and banning any gathering and procession in Dhaka for today.

A five-tier security was enforced and several hundred police personnel were deployed in and around the court premises.

On January 25, Akhtaruzzaman set today for verdict concluding the hearing in the case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission on July 3, 2008 during military-controlled interim regime.