Tarique, Zubaida acquitted in graft case
Bangladesh desk: The High Court has overturned the prison sentences of BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman, acquitting them in an Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) case over illicit wealth.
The verdict was delivered on Wednesday (May 28) by a single bench of the High Court, headed by Justice Md. Khasruzzaman.
Earlier, on May 26, after completing the hearing, the High Court had set May 28 for announcing the verdict.
Lawyer Asif Hasan represented the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), while lawyers SM Shahjahan, Kaiser Kamal, and Zakir Hossain Bhuiyan represented the appellants. Deputy Attorney General Mohammad Abdul Karim appeared on behalf of the state.
Previously, on May 14, the High Court accepted the appeal filed by Dr. Zubaida Rahman against her three-year sentence and granted her bail until the appeal was resolved, suspending the fine as well.
On May 13, the High Court waived a delay of 587 days in filing the appeal. Following this, Dr. Zubaida Rahman officially submitted the appeal against her conviction.
The case was filed by the ACC on September 26, 2007, with Kafrul Police Station in Dhaka, accusing Tarique Rahman, Zubaida Rahman, and her mother Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu of concealing wealth information and acquiring wealth beyond known sources of income.
After the trial, on August 2, 2023, Judge Md. Asaduzzaman of the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court sentenced Tarique Rahman to a total of nine years in prison under two sections of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004: three years under Section 26 (2) and six years under Section 27 (1). He was also fined Tk 30 million.
Zubaida Rahman was sentenced to three years in prison under Section 27(1) and fined Tk 3.5 million. Later, upon application, her sentence was suspended for one year through an executive order from the government.
Dr. Zubaida Rahman left the country with her husband Tarique Rahman on September 11, 2008, for London. After 17 years, she returned to Bangladesh on May 6 this year, along with her mother-in-law, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
