HC grants bail to Zubaida Rahman in graft case, suspends fine

The High Court has granted bail to Zubaida Rahman, the wife of BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, after accepting her appeal against the three-year jail sentence in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for owning wealth beyond known sources of income.

On Wednesday, Justice Md Khasruzzaman approved her bail, which will be in effect until the disposal of the appeal.

Zubaida had filed the appeal seeking to overturn her sentence, after the court on Tuesday excused a 587-day delay in filing her response to the case.

Her lawyer Kaysar Kamal said, "The High Court granted bail after accepting the appeal for hearing. At the same time, the case documents have been summoned and the fine of Tk 3.5 million has been suspended.”

Another member of her legal team SM Shahjahan said, "We think the case was politically motivated. We expect both Tarique Rahman and Zubaida Rahman to be acquitted after the full hearing of the appeal."

Zubaida, who is a physician, returned to Bangladesh 17 years abroad. In 2008, she and her daughter Zaima Rahman left for London with Tarique, who had sought medical treatment there.

The erstwhile Awami League government had named Zubaida in numerous cases alongside her husband. As such, she did not return home for 17 years.

After the fall of the Awami League government on Aug 5 last year, Tarique and his mother Khaleda Zia were acquitted in several cases. On Oct 2 last year, Zubaida's sentence in the case was suspended for a year.

The notice suspending the sentence against Zubaida in that case said, “The stay order was issued following a petition and with a condition for the defendant to surrender at the Dhaka Senior Special Judge’s Court and file an appeal.”

Zubaida’s lawyers later filed the petition with the High Court following her return to Dhaka with her mother-in-law and former prime minister Khaleda on May 16.

The ACC filed the case during the rule of the military-backed caretaker government on Sept 26, 2007, naming Tarique, Zubaida and her mother Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu.

The defendants were charged with concealing assets worth Tk 48.1 million and providing false information. Zubaida and her mother were accused of assisting Tarique in hiding information.

Tarique and Zubaida filed separate writ petitions in 2007 challenging the legality of the case. ACC submitted the chargesheet on Mar 31, 2008.