The verdict is the latest legal victory for the former prime minister to be released from house arrest after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in August.

Bangladesh’s Supreme Court acquitted former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in a 2008 corruption case, overturning a previous 10-year prison sentence.

In 2018, the country’s high court found Zia and others guilty of misappropriating funds intended for orphans during Zia’s last term as prime minister from 2001 to 2006.

But following an appeal, a five-judge panel led by Chief Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed on Wednesday acquitted Zia and all other accused in the case, including her son and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting president Tarique Rahman.

Defense lawyer Zanur Abedin told the media after the verdict: “The nature of the case was so egregious that both those who appealed and those who could not appeal were acquitted.”

The verdict is the latest legal victory for Zia, 79, and her family against the BNP, one of the two main groups dominating the country’s politics.

In November last year, Zia was also acquitted in a separate corruption case, where she was accused of embezzling 31.5 million taka ($260,000) from another trust in 2005.

Earlier this month, she flew to London to treat health problems including cirrhosis and heart disease.

Since August, Bangladesh has been ruled by an interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India. mass protest against her rule.

Hasina’s fall prompted Zia to be placed under house arrest later in August. In 2020, the former prime minister suspended Zia’s jail term on health grounds on the condition that her long-time rival refrain from traveling abroad and participating in politics.

The BNP has always maintained that the charges were politically motivated and accused the then Hasina government of targeting Zia for political reasons.

Zia’s legal team expressed optimism on Wednesday that the Supreme Court ruling could pave the way for her to contest the next parliamentary elections, expected to be held late this year or early 2026.

Last month, the High Court also acquitted Rehman and others of charges of attacking Hasina’s rally with grenades in 2004.