Bangladesh Ex-Prime Minister’s Jail Term Doubled

The jail term of former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s prison sentence for misappropriating funds meant for orphans has been doubled from five years to 10 by a Bangladeshi court.

The two-judge panel of the High Court, headed by Enayetur Rahim, passed the judgment disposing of separate petitions filed by the prosecution, asking for a life sentence, and Zia’s defence team, calling for aquittal.

Prosecution counsel Khurshid Khan said the High Court also rejected a petition for acquittal from five people who worked for the former prime minister, including Zia’s son Tarique Rahman, who had been given 10-year sentences after being convicted for the same scheme.

Zia, who heads the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was handed the five-year sentence by a lower court on Feb. 8 for misappropriating funds intended for an orphanage.

She was initially held in Dhaka Central Jail but was moved to a Dhaka hospital after her health began to deteriorate.

She was convicted of swindling 21 million taka (252,203 dollars) to personal accounts from Zia Orphanage Trust, a charity named after Zia’s slain husband Ziaur Rahman, during her 1991 to 1996 tenure.

In a separate case, a Dhaka court on Monday sentenced the 73 year-old politician to seven years in prison for illegally raising charitable funds by using the power of her office during her second term (2001 to 2006) as prime minister.