Dhaka: Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was today sentenced to five years’ rigorous imprisonment for corruption, a body blow for the main Opposition leader who may be disqualified from contesting the next election in December, as thousands of her supporters staged protests against her jailing.

The 72-year-old three-time PM was sentenced by Dhaka’s Special Court in connection with the embezzlement of 21 million taka ($250,000) in foreign donations meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust, named after her late husband Ziaur Rahman, a military ruler-turned-politician.

The verdict simultaneously sentenced Zia’s “fugitive” elder son and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) senior vice-president Tarique Rahman as he was tried in absentia. Rahman and four others have been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The case is one of dozens pending against Zia, who has been a rival of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for decades. The charges against her had already led to her boycotting polls in 2014, which triggered widespread protests.

Zia, wearing a white sari, appeared in the heavily guarded courtroom amid heightened political tension. While sentencing Zia, the judge read out the abridged version of the 632-page verdict in 10 minutes. He said though all convicts played an identical role in the crime, Zia was given a lesser term taking into account her “age and social status”.

The court also said that the defence tried their best to hinder the trial proceedings as they sought time on 35 occasions in the name of changing the court.

The other convicts are former lawmaker Kazi Salimul Haque Kamal, businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed, ex-PM’s principal secretary Kamal Uddin Siddiqui and her nephew Mominur Rahman. Zia became the second head of government after former dictator-turned-politician HM Ershad to be convicted in a graft case. PTI