CLASHES have erupted in Bangladesh after a court convicted opposition leader Khaleda Zia of corruption and sentenced her to five years in jail today (8).
Zia, leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was found guilty of embezzling money meant for an orphanage, a charge she had consistently dismissed as politically motivated.
The two-time former prime minister is expected to appeal against the verdict, but it may affect her ability to stand in a general election slated for December.
She was immediately taken to a special jail in the old part of the city where she would have to remain until her lawyers file an appeal.
"This is a false and staged case. No way we will accept this verdict," BNP secretary general Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said after the hearing.
Zia's lawyer Khandkar Mahbub Hossain said the ruling was "political vengeance" and would be overturned by a higher court.
Violence erupted in major cities across Bangladesh at news of the guilty verdict, with BNP supporters clashing with police and activists from the ruling party.
Police fired rubber bullets at demonstrators in the northeastern city of Sylhet, spokesman Abdul Wahab said. At least four people have been injured in the clashes, he added.
Police said they arrested at least seven BNP officials in the port city of Chittagong, including the local head of the party, after opposition supporters scuffled with police.
Ahead of the hearing in Dhaka police fired tear gas at thousands of opposition activists who defied heavy security to escort the car taking Zia to the magistrate’s court.
The private television station Somoy said at least five police officers had been injured and two motorcycles torched during the clashes that broke out several kilometres from the court premises.
Authorities have for days been on high alert for protests in the tense city, where political demonstrations by Zia's centre-right BNP and its Islamist allies in 2014 and 2015 left nearly 200 people dead.
Around 3,500 opposition activists and officials were arrested in a sweep by security forces ahead of the verdict according to BNP spokesman Rizvi Ahmed.
A senior officer said more than 5,000 police had been deployed in Dhaka.
Many private schools declared a holiday on Thursday in anticipation of the verdict, while several ride-hailing services announced a day-long suspension of their operations.
Police set up check-posts at key entry points of the city in an effort to prevent thousands of rural supporters of BNP and its Islamist allies from marching to the capital.
"Dhaka is effectively cut off, people in panic," read the front-page headline of the Bengali-language newspaper Prothom Alo.
Zia, 72, is a former ally turned arch-foe of Bangladesh's prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
Her party boycotted 2014 polls in which Hasina was re-elected but is expected to contest the upcoming general election.
(AFP)
Bob Blackman MP speaks during the event