DHAKA: Bangladesh Supreme Court has upheld its order staying the bail granted by the High Court to former prime minister Khaleda Zia in a 2015 murder case. In a massive blow to the imprisoned leader, the decision means that the 72 year old three-time former premier and opposition leader will have to stay in jail for yet another month, even if she secures bail in other cases. Chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Zia was jailed for five years in February in connection with the embezzlement of 21 million taka ($250,000) in foreign donations meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust.
A four-member appellate bench led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain upheld the stay on the High Court decision granting Zia bail in the Cumilla murder case over the firebombing of a bus in February 2015. The SC also asked the High Court to hear and dispose of the case over the bail in four weeks. Eight people were killed in the bomb attack during the BNP-Jamaat alliance's protests. Two separate cases including one for murder were filed over the incident. Following the 2015 incident, a warrant was issued for Zia's arrest after police filed the chargesheet in the two cases.
Zia's imprisonment has led to an indefinite uncertainty over the BNP's participation in the elections in December, as the party said it won't take part in the polls without her.
