Full text of Tarique, Zubaida’s acquittal verdict published

The full text of the High Court verdict has been published today (14 July), granting the appeal filed against the three-year imprisonment sentence of Dr Zubaida Rahman, wife of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman Tarique Rahman.

In the verdict, it has been ordered to release the seized property to Tarique Rahman.

Tarique has also been acquitted from two sections of the case, six and three years. The 52-page verdict has been published on the Supreme Court website.

A single High Court bench of Justice Md Khasruzzaman gave the verdict on 28 May.

On 26 September 2007, the ACC filed a case against Tarique Rahman, Zubaida Rahman and her mother Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu at Dhaka's Kafrul Police Station on charges of concealing information about assets and acquiring assets inconsistence with their known sources of income.

After the trial of the case, on 2 August 2023, Tarique Rahman was sentenced to a total of nine years in prison under two sections and his wife Zubaida Rahman was sentenced to three years in prison by the then judge of the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court Md Asaduzzaman.

The verdict sentenced Tarique to three years in prison under Section 26(2) and six years in prison under Section 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Act, 2004. He was fined as well.

Meanwhile, Zubaida Rahman was sentenced to three years in prison under Section 27(1) and a fine of Tk 3.5 million was imposed as well.

Later, following an application, her sentence was suspended for one year by a government executive order.

Zubaida Rahman left the country for London with her husband Tarique Rahman on 11 September 2008. She returned to Bangladesh with her mother-in-law Khaleda Zia on May 6 this year after 17 years. Zubaida then returned to London on 6  June after staying in the country for a month.