Dhaka: Former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia was sentenced to another 7 years prison time in connection with corruption charges by a Bangladesh court today.
The bench headed by Judge Mohammad Akhtaruzzman found the 73-year-old former PM guilty of abusing her power and misusing 31.5 million taka ($375,000) charitable fund.
The order is seen as politically motivated one by her supporters since Zia was already sentenced 5 years prison term in February on separate embezzlement charges, NDTV reports.
That court’s verdict has triggered clashes between police and thousands of her and her opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) followers.
Zia entered politics in the mid 1980’s after her husband was assassinated.
Currently, Zia faces dozens of separate charges related to violence and corruption which are lawyers state are baseless.
She is also suffering health complications in the past few months reports confirmed.
As her health deteriorated, she could not attend the trial court for which a special room inside the prison was converted into a makeshift court in an effort to fast-track her trial.
The move was protested against by her lawyers who called it unconstitutional.