Dhaka, May 21 (V7N) — The High Court has fixed Thursday, May 22, for the hearing of an appeal filed by Zubaida Rahman, wife of BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, seeking to overturn her three-year prison sentence in a corruption case.

The order was passed by Justice Md. Khasruzzaman of a single High Court bench on Wednesday. The court also granted bail to Zubaida Rahman and suspended the fine imposed on her.

Zubaida Rahman had filed the appeal on May 6, shortly after returning to the country following 17 years abroad. The court accepted her plea by waiving a 587-day delay in filing the appeal.

She had been sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of Tk 3.5 million by the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court on August 2, 2023. On the same day, Tarique Rahman was sentenced to a total of nine years in prison on two counts — three years for concealing information and six years for amassing illegal wealth — along with a fine of Tk 30 million.

The case was originally filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on September 26, 2007, at Kafrul Police Station, accusing Tarique Rahman, Zubaida Rahman, and his mother Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu of concealing wealth information and acquiring assets beyond their known sources of income.

Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, 2024, the Home Ministry suspended Zubaida Rahman's sentence on November 4, paving the way for her return and legal challenge.

The upcoming High Court hearing could become a significant political development as the BNP continues to contest multiple legal and electoral issues ahead of the national elections.

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