Former Bangladesh PM sentenced to 7 more years for corruption News
Former Bangladesh PM sentenced to 7 more years for corruption

Former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia has been sentenced to seven additional years in prison after she was found guilty on Monday of embezzling USD $375,000 that was supposed to go to a charity fund.

The petition to extend Zia’s sentence was filed earlier this month, with the prosecution stating that because Zia was not present at her trials, she could be sentenced more expediently to a longer term of imprisonment; under the petition’s request she appeared in court for sentencing on Monday.

A warrant was initially issued for Zia’s arrest in January 2016 after she was allegedly connected to a bus bombing, and she has been in court for two years since. In February Zia was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of embezzling $250,000.

In May, Zia’s lawyers appealed for bail, claiming that “the accused is an aged woman who has been suffering from various old age maladies and thus the accused has no other option but to move this court for bail straightway.” The motion was denied in a move that Zia’s supporters in the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) claimed was politically motivated, especially considering that she had been granted bail in the past.

Zia, 73, would be 85 when she leaves prison.