Dr. Zubaida Rahman's penal sentence called off

 
The interim government has suspended the sentence of Dr. Zubaida Rahman, wife of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, in connection with a 2007 case filed with Kafrul Police Station in Dhaka. The Home Ministry issued a notification on Sunday, signed by Deputy Secretary of the Security Services Division Mohammad Abu Sayeed Molla. The notification states that Dr. Zubaida Rahman's penal sentence has been suspended for one year, contingent on her surrendering to the court and filing an appeal.

The decision was made in accordance with the President's order under the powers bestowed by the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, following an application and the opinion of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.
 
Earlier on 2 August 2022, a Dhaka court sentenced Tarique Rahman to nine years and Dr. Zubaida Rahman to three years in prison in a case involving the acquisition of assets beyond their known sources of income.

The court also ordered the confiscation of assets worth Tk2.74 crore from Tarique Rahman and fined him an additional Tk 3 crore. Dr. Zubaida Rahman was fined Tk 35 lakh in the same case.

The charges were brought under sections 26 (2) and 27 (1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Act 2004, which carry maximum penalties of three and ten years, respectively.

The ACC had filed the case on 26 September 2007, accusing Tarique Rahman, Zubaida Rahman, and one other person of concealing information and acquiring illegal assets.

Closing arguments for the prosecution were completed on 27 July 2022 while the verdict was issued on 2 August of the same year.