A Dhaka court on Wednesday sentenced BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman to nine years imprisonment and his wife Dr Zubaida Rahman to three years in a graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in 2007 .

Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Asaduzzaman pronounced the judgment

Advocate Mosharraf Hossain Kajal took part in arguments on behalf of the  ACC during the hearing.

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However, no counsel stood for the accused as they are now absconding.

Examining 43 out of 56 witnesses, the court completed recording testimonies on July 24.

The court began the trial against the accused on April 13 after framing charges against them.

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Earlier on November 1, 2022, the court issued arrest warrants for Tarique Rahman and Zubaida in the case.

On June 26, the High Court ordered the judicial court to dispose of the case as soon as possible.

The HC also rejected the couple’s writ petitions, challenging the corruption case against them for acquiring wealth beyond their known sources of income and concealing information in their affidavits.

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As both of them remain fugitives, the court rejected the writ petitions – saying these are not acceptable.

The court also withdrew the stay order on the trial proceedings of the case filed against them.

On September 26, 2007, ACC lodged a complaint with Kafrul police against Tarique Rahman, Zubaida and her mother Iqbal Mand Banu for amassing illegal wealth worth Tk 4.81 crore and concealing the information.

In the same year, the High Court issued a rule suspending the trial proceedings in the case after hearing a petition filed by Zubaida.

The HC rejected the rule in 2017 and asked her to surrender before the court within eight weeks.