BangladeshÂ’s Supreme Court reversed on Thursday a lower court decision to free former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia on bail, upholding an appeal by the army-backed interim government. The government will proceed with KhaledaÂ’s prosecution on corruption charges, a lawyer at the prosecutorÂ’s office said, following the top courtÂ’s order. Her party said it was disappointed with the court ruling, but hoped justice would be done. Security forces arrested Khaleda and her son Arafat Rahman early last month to face graft charges in the award of a cargo-handling contract to a firm in 2003 that her son allegedly favoured, overruling a state committeeÂ’s recommendation.
But a High Court on Sunday ordered Khaleda to be freed on bail and halted her further prosecution on grounds she couldnÂ’t be tried under special emergency laws for an offence committed before the imposition of emergency in January this year. The army-backed interim government, which has vowed to complete a campaign against corrupt politicians and officials before elections next year, filed an appeal on Tuesday against the order.