Former Bangladeshi PM’s prison stay extended

DHAKA: Former Bangladeshi prime minister Khaleda Zia (pic) will have to stay in prison until May, after the country’s top court stayed a temporary bail order for her following a petition by government lawyers.

Zia, 72, was jailed last month in a graft case. Yesterday’s order means that she will remain jailed until May 8, at least.

A two-judge High Court panel approved an order for four months of interim bail on March 12, after granting Zia the right to appeal a five-year prison term handed down by a lower court.

But yesterday, a fourmember Supreme Court panel headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain overturned the bail, after hearing a petition by the state counsels, according to prosecution lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan.

Zia, who is also chief of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was sent to Dhaka Central Jail on Feb 8 after a special court in Dhaka sen- tenced her to five years in jail for misappropriating funds meant for orphans.

Her defence lawyers expressed frustration over the latest court decision.

“It is unwarranted and we are frustrated with the court order,” said Joynul Abedin, one of the lawyers handling Zia’s defence.

“The government’s intentions were reflected in the court’s orders,” said Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, general secretary of the BNP, which earlier dismissed the conviction of the party chief as politically motivated.

Zia was found guilty of transferring 21 million taka (RM985,728) to personal accounts from a charity named after her slain husband Ziaur Rahman during her 1991-96 tenure as Bangladesh’s prime minister.

The lower court also sentenced Tarique Rahman, Zia’s son who lives in exile in London, and four others to 10 years in jail. — dpa