Bangladesh Supreme Court clears Zia of corruption charges, paving the way for her to run in elections

On Wednesday, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Khaleda Zia, her son and acting BNP chairman Tarique Rahman, along with four other accused individuals, were acquitted by the Supreme Court's appellate division in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case. Previously, the accused had been sentenced to prison terms of 5 to 10 years, but the Supreme Court termed the case as "malicious."

The ruling removes any legal obstacles for Khaleda Zia, a two-time former prime minister, to contest the upcoming national elections. Currently, both she and her son reside in London. The Supreme Court overturned previous judgments issued during the tenure of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, including decisions made by the high court and trial court. In those earlier rulings, Khaleda was sentenced to five years in prison, while Tarique and the other accused received 10 years each. The High Court had later increased Khaleda's sentence to 10 years, while maintaining the 10-year sentences for the others.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court described the prosecution of the Zia Orphanage Trust case as "malicious" and stated that those who did not appeal the High Court's verdict would now benefit from the decision, which restores their dignity as innocent individuals. The unanimous verdict was delivered by a five-member bench led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed. The decision followed hearings on two appeals filed by Khaleda and individual appeals from Kazi Kamal and businessman Sharafuddin Ahmed.

Khaleda had initially been imprisoned on February 8, 2018, after a special court in Dhaka sentenced her to five years for her role in the case. The other accused—Kazi Kamal, Sharafuddin, Kamal Uddin Siddique, and Mominur Rahman—were sentenced to 10 years each for embezzling over BDT 2.1 crore, intended as foreign grants for orphans.