Dr. Zubaida Rahman granted permission to appeal

ছবিঃ সংগৃহীত

News Desk: The High Court has allowed Dr. Zubaida Rahman, wife of BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, to appeal against the prison sentence on charges of acquiring assets beyond known income.

Dr. Zubaida Rahman's lawyer Barrister Kaiser Kamal told the media that the 587-day delay in the corruption case has been waived and permission has been granted to appeal.

Earlier, on August 2, 2023, the court sentenced BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman to 9 years in prison under two sections and his wife Dr. Zubaida Rahman to 3 years in prison in the case of owning assets beyond declared income. On that day, Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md. Asaduzzaman announced the verdict in the case. He also ordered not to issue arrest warrants for the two absconding accused in the eyes of the law.

At the same time, the court ordered the confiscation of Tarique's assets worth 2 crore 74 lakh 93 thousand 87 taka in favor of the state. In addition, Tarique was fined Tk 30 million and Zubaida Tk 3.5 million. The Public Prosecutor (PP) who handled the case on behalf of the ACC that day was Mosharraf Hossain Kajal.

Tarique Rahman and Zubaida have been charged under Sections 26(2) and 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004. The maximum punishment for the offense under Section 26(2) is 3 years and the maximum punishment for the offense under Section 27(1) is 10 years. The ACC concluded its arguments in this case on July 27. Then the verdict was set.

After the verdict, BNP Legal Secretary Kaiser Kamal said that the case was filed against Tarique Rahman and Zubaida Rahman for political reasons. The fact that the verdict was announced with the testimony of 42 people in just 16 working days proves how politically motivated this case is.

It is worth noting that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against three people, including Tarique Rahman and Zubaida Rahman, at the capital's Kafrul Police Station on September 26, 2007, on charges of concealing information about assets and acquiring assets outside known sources of income. The following year, a chargesheet was filed against them in court.