Ershad goes home a free man

Dhaka, Jan 17 (bdnews24.com) – A Dhaka court Wednesday cleared HM Ershad of the Japanese boat purchase graft case, drawing a line under a long-drawn legal battle. The judgement lifted the bar on the embattled former president to take part in the elections. Mustafizur Rahman, a lawyer for Ershad, told bdnews24.com that there was no bar for him to take part in the election. "He (Ershad) doesn't have to serve a jail term. The sentence has already been served out." "I got justice," Ershad said—all smiles when he left the first additional sessions judge's court, accompanied by his lawyers and adherents. In the final verdict on the case at 1:30pm, Additional Sessions Judge Amirul Islam said: "Mr Hossain Mohammad Ershad has already served out his sentence in full." The judge said Ershad may remain as he is now until further order. "Ershad is at liberty," a lawyer said immediately after the judgement. Ershad, who grabbed power in a bloodless coup in 1982 and ruled the country with an iron hand for nearly nine years, had been found guilty of embezzling Tk 33 crore in a shady deal for buying 520 Japanese boats and ten water purifiers for relief work. A divisional special sessions judge sentenced him to three years in jail on July 6 1995. The legal battle found its way into the High Court. On December 26, Judge Zainul Abedin asked Ershad to surrender to the trial court, adding to the wrangling over the graft case. The trial court Wednesday referred to a High Court order, which was passed on December 14. The court had rejected an appeal against conviction in the case but cut the trial court sentence against him from three to two years in jail. Judge Amirul Islam said: "The judgement passed by the honourable High Court is final." He said three years of custody before conviction was longer the period of imprisonment. The judge deducted the total period of detention from the two-year jail sentence. bdnews24.com/corr/at/ad/1804 hours