A Dhaka tribunal has sentenced Shamima Noor Papia, an expelled leader of Jubo Mohila League, and her husband Mofizur Rahman alias Sumon Chowdhury to 20 years in jail for the illegal possession of firearms, reports bdnews24.com.
Judge KM Imrul Kayes of Dhaka Metropolitan Special Tribunal-1 issued the verdict in the arms case.
The couple have been facing four cases.
The sentence was handed down under section 19 (A) of the Firearms Act. The couple were also handed seven years in prison under another provision of the law. The two sentences were combined by the court to send Papia and Sumon to prison for 20 years in the case.
The prosecution had sought life imprisonment for Papia and Sumon in the case. But the court reduced the punishment for the couple as Papia is a woman.
The Rapid Action Battalion arrested Papia, her husband and their two associates and seized passports and counterfeit notes found on them at Shahjalal International Airport on Feb 22.
In raids on Papia's homes in Dhaka and Narsingdi on Feb 23, the RAB found huge wealth without a known source besides a pistol and five bottles of foreign liquor.
The couple have made the fortunes through "trading in drugs and arms, extortion, recruitment fraud and other sorts of embezzlement", according to the RAB.
"Shamima Noor Papia and her husband Mofizur Rahman Sumon are not politicians. Tk 5.8 million was recovered from their home, which does not have any valid source. There is no reason why they had so much money there," the judge said.
"They are so-called politicians, busy with their own agendas. They were not working for the welfare of the people and the country. Rather they were dangerous for the country. They kept a foreign pistol, two magazines and 20 rounds of ammunition under the mattress for unlawful use. The illegal weapon and bullets were in their possession and ownership and they had the knowledge of these."
Papia and her husband, who were both in court, appeared impassive when the verdict was delivered.
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