BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman, who has faced over 80 cases since 2007, is gradually being freed from legal entanglements..

Among these cases are the Zia Orphanage Trust case, the August 21 grenade attack case, money laundering case, illegal wealth acquisition case, and a defamation case, all resulting in various sentences.

Two of these cases—the Zia Orphanage Trust and the money laundering case—have been settled in the Appellate Division. In the August 21 grenade attack case, while the High Court acquitted Tarique of certain charges, the case is still pending in the Appellate Division.

In a defamation case in Narail, Tarique was sentenced to two years, but the complainant later withdrew the case. 

On May 28, the High Court acquitted him in the illegal wealth acquisition case, where he was sentenced to six and three years under two different sections.

According to lawyers with these developments, Tarique Rahman is now free from all conviction cases.

Assistant Attorney General Md Azadul Islam, BNP’s joint legal affairs secretary Zakir Hossain Bhuiyan, and Nationalist Lawyers Forum Supreme Court unit member Md Azmal Hossain Khokon have all confirmed Tarique’s acquittal in these cases.

In September 2008, during the caretaker government’s rule, Tarique was granted bail and left for medical treatment in London, where he has remained since.

In his absence, on November 17, 2013, a Dhaka special judge court acquitted Tarique in a money laundering case. However, businessman Giasuddin Al Mamun received a seven-year sentence in the same case. The Anti-Corruption Commission later appealed, and on July 21, 2016, the High Court overturned Tarique’s acquittal, sentencing him to seven years. Giasuddin Al Mamun appealed, and the Appellate Division later acquitted both Mamun and Tarique.

In the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case, Tarique was sentenced to 10 years in February 2018, while former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia received five years. After appeals, Khaleda’s sentence was increased to 10 years by the High Court, but later her appeal was accepted, and Tarique was acquitted along with others.

On August 2, 2023, a senior special judge court sentenced Tarique to nine years and his wife Dr. Zubaida Rahman to three years in the illegal wealth case. Following Dr. Zubaida’s appeal, the High Court on May 28 acquitted Tarique as well.

In December 2014, Tarique made controversial remarks in a UK BNP rally, calling Bangabandhu a collaborator with Pakistan, which was published in a national daily. This led to a defamation case filed by freedom fighter Shahjahan Biswas in Narail.

Tarique was sentenced to two years in this case on February 4, 2021. The complainant later sought a retrial, and the High Court ordered a rehearing. After the retrial began, the complainant withdrew the case, leading to its dismissal on December 31 last year.

With these developments, Tarique Rahman is now free from all legal convictions.

MSK/