DHAKA: A court in Bangladesh sentenced opposition leader Khaleda Zia tofive years in jail on Thursday after convicting the two-time former premierof embezzling money meant for an orphanage.
Judge Mohammad Akhteruzzaman convicted Zia and sentenced her to five yearsin jail in a crowded courtroom, an AFP correspondent at the scene said.Following the sentence, Zia was taken to a Dhaka prison under heavysecurity.
The conviction means that Zia, the archrival of the current prime minister,could be barred from running in December national elections. Defense lawyerMahbubuddin Khokan said Zia had ordered him to appeal against the decision.“This is unbelievable,” he said. “I am confident she will come out of jail.”
Violent clashes broke out between security forces and protesters in theBangladesh capital ahead of the verdict.
Police fired tear gas at thousands of opposition activists who defied heavysecurity to escort the car taking Zia, a two-time former prime minister, toa Dhaka court for the verdict.
The private television station Somoy said at least five police officers hadbeen injured and two motorcycles torched during the clashes that broke outseveral kilometres from the court premises.
Zia, leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), ischarged with embezzling $252,000 from a trust created for an orphanage andfaces life in prison if convicted by the Dhaka magistrates’ court.
She has consistently denied the charges, insisting ‘not a penny’ was stolenand saying the legal action was politically motivated.
Police had banned street protests and rounded up thousands of oppositionsupporters in a crackdown ahead of Thursday’s ruling.
A senior officer told AFP more than 5,000 police had been deployed in Dhakaand the streets of the usually congested capital were almost empty of carsearly Thursday.
“We have stepped up security in the entire city,” Dhaka police chiefAsaduzzaman Mia told reporters outside the court.
Authorities have for days been on high alert for protests in the tensecity, where political demonstrations by Zia’s centre-right BNP and itsallies in 2014 and 2015 left nearly 200 people dead.
The guilty verdict could prevent Zia, a former ally turned arch-nemesis ofPrime Minister Sheikh Hasina, from contesting a general election slated forDecember.
The BNP boycotted 2014 polls in which Hasina was re-elected but is expectedto contest the upcoming general election.
Zia, 72, has repeatedly said the charges against her are politicallymotivated, aimed at excluding her and her family from politics. “This is anattempt to use the court against me, in an effort to sideline me frompolitics and elections and to isolate me from the people,” Zia told apacked news conference on Wednesday.
BNP spokesman Rizvi Ahmed has said around 3,500 opposition activists andofficials have been arrested in a sweep by security forces ahead of theverdict.
Human Rights Watch on Thursday urged the government to stop what it called‘arbitrary arrests and detentions’.
“The Bangladesh government’s claims to be open and democratic ring hollowas it cracks down on political dissent,” said the group’s Asia directorBrad Adams.
“The government has a responsibility to prevent and minimise violence, butit needs to do so in a way that respects basic rights, not flouts them.” -Agencies