Khaleda gets HC bail, no bar to walk free

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia today secured four-month bail in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case, in which she was found guilty handed five years in prison.

Now, there is no legal bar to let Khaleda walk out of prison on bail, Advocate Sagir Hossain Leon, a lawyer for the BNP chief, told The Daily Star after the High Court ruling.

The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Shahidul Karim passed the bail order in response to a petition moved by Khaleda before the High Court back in February.

Her bail was considered on four grounds – her short sentencing of five years, health condition, her facing trial proceedings and that the case records have reached the High Court.

The court also directed the office concerned to prepare the paperbook of the case within the next four months for hearing the appeal she filed against her conviction in the case.

Earlier on March 8, the HC fixed yesterday for passing a necessary order regarding the bail petition.

The HC bench on February 25 heard the petition and said it would pass an order on it after receiving the case records.

On February 8, the Special Judge's Court-5 of Dhaka sentenced Khaleda to five years' rigorous imprisonment after finding her guilty in the graft case.

The court also jailed her elder son Tarique Rahman, now the acting chairman of BNP, and four others for 10 years and fined them Tk 2.1 crore, saying all the six convicts would have to pay the fine in equal amounts.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case with Ramna police in July 2008, accusing the six of misappropriating over Tk 2.1 crore that came from a foreign bank as grants for orphans.