Khaleda Zia, Tarique Rahman, and all accused cleared of charges in Zia Orphanage Trust case

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, acting party chief Tarique Rahman, and all other accused have been cleared of charges in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case. 

On Wednesday, January 15, the Appellate Division ruled in favor of acquitting all defendants, wiping out the sentences that had been handed down by both the trial court and the High Court Division.

The decision came after a five-member bench of the Appellate Division, headed by Chief Justice Dr. Syed Refaat Ahmed, scheduled the verdict for this day. The bench made this announcement a day earlier on Tuesday, January 14.

Senior lawyer Zainul Abedin, speaking to reporters in a press conference at the Supreme Court premises, stated, "The court has overturned the lower court‍‍`s and High Court‍‍`s rulings in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case. Everyone, including Tarique Rahman, who couldn’t file an appeal, has been acquitted."

He further added, "The court observed that this case was driven by Sheikh Hasina‍‍`s personal vendetta. It was termed ‍‍`malicious prosecution‍‍` by the court, and the malicious nature of the case was such that the High Court and lower court rulings were both scrapped."

Back in February 2018, Khaleda Zia was sentenced to five years in prison by Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman, the judge of Dhaka‍‍`s Special Judge Court-5, which was temporarily set up at the Parade Ground of the Department of Prisons in Bakshibazar. 

Khaleda Zia‍‍`s son and BNP‍‍`s acting chairman, Tarique Rahman, along with former MP Kazi Salimul Haque Kamal, businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed, Dr. Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, and Mominur Rahman, were each sentenced to ten years in prison by the court in the same case.

Soon after, on February 20 of that year, Khaleda Zia filed an appeal with the High Court. On March 28, 2018, the High Court issued a rule on the Anti-Corruption Commission‍‍`s (ACC) appeal, which had asked for an extension of Khaleda‍‍`s sentence. 

The High Court bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md. Mostafizur Rahman later increased Khaleda Zia‍‍`s sentence from five to ten years in a ruling made on October 30, 2018.

Khaleda Zia’s appeal for acquittal from the five-year sentence was dismissed, as were the appeals filed by Kazi Salimul Haque Kamal and businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed, who sought acquittal from their ten-year sentences.

On October 29, 2018, Judge Md. Akhtaruzzaman delivered another verdict in the Zia Charitable Trust case. 

This time, Khaleda Zia was sentenced to seven years in prison, fined 1 million taka, and ordered to serve an additional six months in jail if the fine wasn’t paid. 

The same punishment was handed down to the other three defendants.

Khaleda Zia then appealed the ruling in November 2018. 

The High Court later reviewed the case and overturned the sentences of Khaleda Zia and all the other defendants last November. 

Despite these legal battles, it’s important to note that the President had previously pardoned Khaleda Zia‍‍`s sentences in both cases.

This long-drawn legal battle has finally reached its conclusion, marking a huge victory for the former Prime Minister and BNP leaders, as well as a significant moment in Bangladesh‍‍`s political and legal history.