Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia insisted she was wrongly arrested for graft, as the military-backed government moved to undermine a political elite viewed as corrupt.

Police arrested Zia, whose term ended in October, at her home in Dhaka on Sept. 3, hours after a case was filed against her and her youngest son, Arafat Rahman Coco.

Zia said she and her son were innocent.

"This is a conspiracy to tarnish the image of my family and my party. We have done nothing wrong. This case against us must be lifted," Zia told a court before being jailed pending trial. Her son was ordered held for seven days for questioning.