Bangladesh court grants bail to ex-PM Khaleda Zia

The Bangladesh High Court has granted bail to former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who was arrested earlier this month on corruption charges, her lawyer said yesterday.

The court also stayed the proceedings of the graft case brought against Zia under emergency rules, Ruhul Quddus said.

Zia, along with her younger son Arafat Rahman, was detained on Sept. 3 in a graft case involving container terminal contracts.

Zia's lawyers petitioned the High Court challenging the case.

It was not clear when Zia would be released. The government plans to appeal yesterday's bail ruling, a court official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media.

The court did not give bail to Rahman, who is being detained at Dhaka central jail.

The Anti-Corruption Commission lodged the charges against Khaleda, her son and 11 other people a day before she was detained on Sept 3.

Zia accused of misusing her power while awarding two container terminal handling contracts to a local company, Global Agro Trade Co, when she was in office in 2003. Rahman is accused of influencing his mother to approve the deal.

Zia insisted she is innocent, saying the corruption charges were a conspiracy to tarnish the image of her family and party. Her older son, Tareque Rahman, is also in jail pending trial on separate corruption charges.

Zia's rival -- former prime minister Shiekh Hasina -- has been held since July on extortion charges. She was not released after a similar bail order from the court.