The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has acquitted all the accused, including BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and Acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman, in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case.
A five-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed, announced the verdict on Wednesday morning.
Earlier, on Tuesday, the Appellate Division had set Wednesday to pronounce its judgment on the appeals filed by Khaleda, challenging a High Court order that had extended her five-year jail term to 10 years in the case.
On November 11 last year, the Supreme Court stayed the High Court's verdict, which had doubled Khaleda's jail term to 10 years. Additionally, the Appellate Division allowed Khaleda to file two appeals challenging the High Court’s decision.
On February 8, 2018, the Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 convicted Khaleda Zia and sentenced her to five years in prison in the case. The court also sentenced five others, including her son and BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, to 10 years' imprisonment each. The High Court later extended Khaleda’s sentence to 10 years on October 30, 2018.