Bangladesh Supreme Court stays HC order on Zia's bail
Follow UsBangladesh's Supreme Court today stayed a high court order granting bail to former prime minister Khaleda Zia in a corruption case, a media report said.
Zia, 72, was sentenced to five years in jail on February 8 in connection with the embezzlement of 21 million taka (about USD 250,000) in foreign donations meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust, named after her late husband Ziaur Rahman, a military ruler-turned-politician.
On March 12, the High Court here granted the chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) a four-month interim bail.
However, today a full bench of the Appellate Division led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the order to stay until May 8 the high court order which granted bail to Zia in the graft case.
Following today's Supreme Court order, Zia cannot get released from jail till May 8, Anti-Corruption Commission's lawyer Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan was quoted as saying by the report.
Earlier on March 15, 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. PTI