A Bangladesh judge convicted opposition leader Khaleda Zia of corruption and sentenced her to five years in jail on Thursday as police clashed with thousands of her supporters outside the court.
The court found the two-time former premier guilty of embezzling money meant for an orphanage, a charge she had consistently dismissed as politically motivated. Zia, the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is expected to appeal against the verdict, but it may affect her ability to stand in a general election slated for December.
“This is a false and staged case. No way we will accept this verdict,” BNP secretary general Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told AFP after the hearing.
Zia’s lawyer Khandkar Mahbub Hossain said the ruling was “political vengeance” and would be overturned by a higher court. Ahead of the hearing police fired tear gas at thousands of opposition activists who defied heavy security to escort the car taking Zia to the magistrate’s court.
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The private television station Somoy said at least five police officers had been injured and two motorcycles torched during the clashes that broke out several kilometers (miles) from the court premises.
Many private schools declared a holiday on Thursday in anticipation of the verdict, while several ride-hailing services announced a day-long suspension of their operations. Police have set up check-posts at key entry points of the city in an effort to prevent thousands of rural supporters of BNP and its Islamist allies from marching to the capital.
“Dhaka is effectively cut off, people in panic,” read the front-page headline of the Bengali-language newspaper Prothom Alo.
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