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Former Bangladesh PM to face trial for corruption

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JURIST] Bangladesh's High Court on Thursday ordered prime minister Khaleda Zia to face trial [PTI report] on charges of embezzling money from two corruption cases between 2001 and 2006. Fifteen other defendants are also accused along with Zia of losing over USD $20 million of government funds. Zia was granted bail [JURIST report] in April after surrendering to the court in Dhaka. The trial began last year, and an arrest warrant was issued for Zia in February of this year when she failed to appear in court. Lawyers for Zia believe the decision to go to trial is politically motivated and plan to appeal.

This is not the first time Zia has faced criminal charges since she left office in 2006. In May 2008 Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC)filed [JURIST report] formal charges against Zia for an alleged kickback scheme that awarded lucrative gas contracts to Canadian oil company Niko Resources Ltd[corporate website]. The ACC charged [JURIST report] Zia's eldest son with corruption in July 2010 for allegedly laundering USD $3 million through bank accounts in Singapore. In March 2014 the former prime minister and other members of the BNP were indicted[JURIST report] on two corruption charges, accused of embezzling funds from a charitable trust named after Zia's deceased husband. Bangladesh's High Court ruled Zia must stand trial [JURIST report] on corruption charges last April. In February, an arrest warrant was issued [JURIST report] for Zia again when she and 55 other people were charged for instigating an arson attack on a bus.