Staff Reporter :
The High Court (HC) on Monday fixed Tuesday for delivering the verdict on the appeal filed by BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia challenging a lower court verdict that sentenced her to five-year imprisonment in Zia Orphanage Trust case. The HC Bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman fixed the date in absence of lawyers representing Khaleda.
The appeal of Khaleda seeks acquittal from the charges. Two others were filed by convicts Qazi Saleemul Huq and Sharfuddin Ahmed for the same reason.
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) submitted a revision petition seeking increase of the jail sentence awarded to Khaleda, who is now behind bars after conviction in this case.
Meanwhile, on Monday, a trial court also delivered a seven-year jail term to Khaleda in the Zia Charitable Trust case.
On February 8, the Special Judge’s Court-5 of Dhaka convicted and sentenced Khaleda to five years’ imprisonment in the corruption case.
The court also sentenced Khaleda’s eldest son and BNP Senior Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman and four others to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment, and fined Tk 2.10 crore each.
Khaleda Zia on February 20 filed an appeal with the HC challenging the trial court verdict given to her.
In the appeal, Khaleda prayed to the HC to acquit her of the corruption charge and to scrap the lower court verdict, stay her conviction and suspend the five-year prison sentence.
On the other hand, the ACC and the state filed two Separate appeals seeking enhancement of punishment for Khaleda Zia in the case.
