Khaleda Zia corruption case: Bangladesh Supreme Court stays order granting bail to former prime minister

Dhaka: Bangladesh’s Supreme Court on Monday stayed a high court order that granted bail to former prime minister Khaleda Zia in a corruption case, according to a media report. [caption id=“attachment_4342125” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of former Bangladesh premier Khaleda Zia. Reuters[/caption] Zia, 72, was sentenced to five years in jail on 8 February in connection with the embezzlement of 21 million taka (about $2,50,000) in foreign donations meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust, named after her late husband Ziaur Rahman, a military ruler-turned-politician. On 12 March, the High Court here granted the chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) a four-month interim bail. However on Monday, a full bench of the Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the order to stay until 8 May the high court order which granted bail to Zia in the graft case. Following Monday’s Supreme Court order, Zia cannot get released from jail till 8 May, Anti-Corruption Commission’s lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan was quoted as saying by the report. Earlier on 15 March, the ACC and the state filed two leave-to-appeal petitions before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, challenging the BNP chief’s bail.