The High Court on Wednesday acquitted Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia and two others in Zia Charitable Trust case in which they were sentenced to seven years in prison by a lower court in 2018.
The bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain also overturned the lower court 2018 verdict that jailed the former prime minister, her political secretary Harris Chowdhury and former Dhaka city mayor Sadeque Hossain鈥檚 private secretary Monirul Islam in the same case, filed in 2011 during the Awami League regime, on charges of embezzlement of the fund of Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Charitable trust.
Khaleda, filed the appeal in 2018 challenging her conviction and seven-year prison sentence, which was remitted by the president after the fall of Sheikh Hasina government following student-led mass uprising on August 5.
Earlier on November 3, the High Court granted permission to Khaleda鈥檚 legal team to prepare a paper book at her expense, enabling a prompt hearing of the appeal.
Khaleda鈥檚 lawyer, Zainul Abedin, argued before the High Court that his client鈥檚 sentence had been remitted by presidential order amid ongoing appeal proceedings.
He emphasised that Khaleda did not request administrative relief; instead, she sought a legal resolution, determined to contest what she viewed as politically motivated charges.
In addition to the Zia Charitable Trust case, another appeal remains pending with the Appellate Division regarding Khaleda鈥檚 sentence in the Zia Orphanage Trust case.
In Zia Orphanage case, the High Court on October 30, 2018 following the Anti-Corruption Commission鈥檚 appeal, increased her sentence from five to ten years, a decision her defense challenged, seeking expedited adjudication.
The two cases were part of legal actions against Khaleda has faced over the years, totalling 37.
On August 8, 2011, the commission filed the Zia Charitable Trust case against Khaleda Zia.
Zia Orphanage Trust case was filed against her during the military-back caretaker government in 2008.
Of the cases, more than 20 have been dismissed by the courts, and her sentences in both the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust cases were remitted following a shift in political dynamics after Sheikh Hasina was ousted as a prime minister and fled the country amid a student-led mass uprising on August 5.
In March 2020, amid the Covid pandemic, the Awami League government granted Khaleda temporary release from prison under an executive order on conditions.
The conditional release has been extended multiple times to keep her out of jail considering her health condition.
