DHAKA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- A Bangladesh special court on Thursday deferred the hearing of the bail application by the country's ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to Feb. 25.
The lawyers for Zia filed the bail petition on Feb. 20 after receiving the 1,126-page copy of the verdict of Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.
The High Court bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Shahidul Karim on Thursday accepted the bail petition and fixed Feb. 25 as the next date for hearing in the case.
The 72-year-old chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was found guilty of a corruption charge and sentenced to five years in prison on Feb. 8.
Shortly after the verdict, Zia was taken to a jail in Dhaka.
The special court also awarded 10 years of sentence to five others including Zia's son Tarique Rahman and a fine of 21 million takas (250,000 U.S. dollars) each.
BNP leaders said political vendettas are to blame for the cases against Khaleda Zia and her son.
