Clashes as Bangladesh court jails Zia

Dhaka: A Bangladesh judge convicted opposition leader Khaleda Zia of corruption and sentenced her to five years in jail as police clashed with thousands of her supporters outside the court.

The court found the two-time former premier guilty of embezzling money meant for an orphanage, a charge she had consistently dismissed as politically motivated.

Zia, leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is expected to appeal against the verdict, but it may affect her ability to stand in a general election slated for December.

She was immediately taken to a special jail in the old part of the city where she would have to remain until her lawyers file an appeal.

“This is a false and staged case. No way we will accept this verdict,” BNP secretary general Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said after the hearing.

Zia’s lawyer Khandkar Mahbub Hossain said the ruling was “political vengeance” and would be overturned by a higher court.

Violence erupted in major cities across Bangladesh at news of the guilty verdict, with BNP supporters clashing with police and activists from the ruling party.

Police fired rubber bullets at demonstrators in the northeastern city of Sylhet, spokesman Abdul Wahab said. At least four people have been injured in the clashes, he added.

Police said they arrested at least seven BNP officials in the port city of Chittagong, including the local head of the party, after opposition supporters scuffled with police.

Ahead of the hearing in Dhaka, police fired tear gas at thousands of opposition activists who defied heavy security to escort the car taking Zia to the magistrate’s court.

The private television station Somoy said at least five police officers had been injured and two motorcycles torched during the clashes that broke out several kilometres from the court premises.

Authorities have for days been on high alert for protests in the tense city, where political demonstrations by Zia’s centre-right BNP and its Islamist allies in 2014 and 2015 left nearly 200 people dead.

Around 3,500 opposition activists and officials were arrested in a sweep by security forces ahead of the verdict according to BNP spokesman Rizvi Ahmed. — AFP