BANGLADESH’S Supreme Court acquitted former prime minister Khaleda Zia today, ending the last corruption case against her  and paving the way for her to contest the next general election.

Ms Zia was recently cleared in another corruption case brought under former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted by a mass uprising last August after 15 years in power.

Today, the Supreme Court overturned a 10-year jail sentence handed down by the High Court in 2018 on charges of embezzling sums equivalent to £205,000 in donations meant for an orphanage trust established when Ms Zia became prime minister in 1991.

The verdict also cleared Ms Zia’s son Tarique Rahman and four others who had been sentenced to 10 years in prison for involvement in the case. 

Ms Zia’s lawyers said the verdict meant she would be able to stand in the next general election, which Bangladesh’s interim government says will be held either in December or in the first half of 2026.

Under Bangladeshi law, anyone imprisoned for more than two years cannot run for political office for the next five years.

Ms Zia had faced a total of 17 years in prison — 10 years in this case and seven years in the other corruption case. She was acquitted in the other case after Ms Hasina was ousted from office in August.