Dhaka:  BNP on Monday announced another countrywide demonstration programme for Wednesday protesting its senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman's conviction in a money-laundering case.

BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced the programme at a press conference at the party's central

Office in Dhaka, reports UNB.

‘BNP will stage demonstrations in all cities, including Dhaka, and district and upazila headquarters, on Wednesday in protest against the conviction and punishment of Tarique Rahman in a money-laundering case scrapping his acquittal by a lower court,’ he said.

Rizvi said the money-laundering case was filed only to entertain the government’s political vengeance.

Earlier, the party observed a similar programme on Saturday on the same issue.

On Thursday, the High Court sentenced BNP senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman to seven years' imprisonment and fined him Tk 20 crore scrapping his acquittal in the money-laundering case.

On 17 November 2013, a Dhaka court acquitted Tarique while sentenced his friend and business partner Giasuddin Al Mamun to seven years along with a fine of Tk 40 crore in the ACC case filed for illegally sending Tk20.41 crore to Singapore between 2003 and 2007.

Rizvi alleged that the government is resorting to a new strategy to keep opposition leaders and activists in jail for a long time by implicating them in false cases.

He said Sylhet City Mayor Ariful Haq and Habiganj municipality mayor GK Gaos have long been there in jail as the government implicated them in ex-Finance minister Shah AMS Kibria murder case out of political vengeance. ‘We strongly denounce the government’s such attitude.’