Bangladesh Supreme Court acquits ex-Prime Minister Zia, clearing the way for her to run in elections

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in the last corruption case against her, paving the way for her to run in elections that an interim government says will be held either in December or in the first half of 2026.

Zia is ailing and traveled to London earlier this month for medical treatment after being cleared in another corruption case brought under former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted last August in a mass uprising that ended her 15-year rule.

Zia and Hasina are archrivals who have dominated Bangladesh's politics for decades, and Hasina's ouster has created an opportunity for Zia to make a comeback.

On Wednesday, a five-member Appellate Division of the Supreme Court overturned a 10-year jail sentence handed down by the High Court in 2018 on charges of embezzling some $250,000 in donations meant for an orphanage trust established when Zia became prime minister in 1991.

The High Court had also sentenced Zia's son, Tarique Rahman, and four others to 10 years in prison for involvement in the case. Rahman is the heir apparent in Zia's party under Bangladesh's dynastic political system.

Wednesday's verdict by the Supreme Court also cleared Rahman and the others.

Zia's lawyers said the verdict means she will be able to contest in next election. Under Bangladesh law, anyone imprisoned for more than two years cannot run for political office for the next five years.

Zia had faced a total of 17 years in prison — 10 years in this case and seven years in the other corruption case. She was acquitted in the other case after Hasina was ousted from office in August.

Defense lawyers and Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party denied any wrongdoing involving the trust fund and said the charges were politically motivated.

Zia is the wife of late President Ziaur Rahman and Hasina is the daughter of independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Hasina fled into exile in neighboring India following her ouster amid violence that left hundreds of people dead in July and August. She faces charges of mass killing under the interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus. A special tribunal has sought help from international police organization Interpol for Hasina's arrest and requested that India extradite her.