Verdict on Graft Case against Tarique, Zubaida to Be Sentenced at 3 pm

The verdict in a corruption case brought by the Anti-Corruption Commission in 2007 against BNP acting leader Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman will be announced today by a court in Dhaka.

According to Additional Public Prosecutor Tapash Kumar Pal, Judge Md Asaduzzaman of the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court would pronounce the verdict in their absence at 3:00 pm.

According to Deputy Commissioner (Prosecution) Anisur Rahman, more police officers were stationed on the court grounds before the decision was made.

Meanwhile, according to Omar Faruq Faruqui, the chairperson of the Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum of the Dhaka Bar Association, pro-BNP attorneys scheduled a day-long program on the court grounds in protest of the illegitimate ruling against Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman.

The prosecution finished its case on July 27 and asked for the worst penalty for the pair.

In the past, the court had 42 prosecution witnesses, including the case's complainant, record their testimonies.

The charging sheet depicts the pair as fugitives.

The same court filed accusations against them on April 13. Prior to that, the court denied a petition from a lawyer requesting authorization to represent them.

Since 2008, Tarique and Zubaida have resided in London.

Zubaida has only been indicted in this case, whereas Tarique is charged in 15 more cases, the most of which were brought during the caretaker government's reign in 2007 and 2008.

This court issued arrest warrants for the pair on November 1 of last year after accepting the allegations presented against them.

The High Court labeled Tarique and Zubaida "fugitives" on June 26 of last year and denied their writ petitions against the launching of the corruption case.

The stay order in the case was likewise revoked by the HC.

The two and Zubaida's mother, Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu, were accused by the ACC of acquiring assets worth Tk 4.82 crore through illicit methods and hiding the information of Tk 2.16 crore in their wealth declarations on September 26, 2007, and the case was filed with the Kafrul Police Station.

On March 31, 2009, the investigation officer filed charges against the three after an investigation.

Trial procedures against Zubaida's mother, however, were abandoned.

The August 21 grenade attack cases resulted in the life sentence for Tarique.

He was also sentenced in two other cases, including the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.