Bangladesh court rejects ex-PM Zia petitions

A court on Sunday rejected two petitions of Bangladesh’s embattled former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia who appeared before it in a graft case which accuses her of embezzling over $4 lakh from a trust, saying there is “no ground” to re-examine the investigating officer.

Dhaka’s Third Special Judge’s Court deferred 70-year-old Opposition leader Zia’s hearing and fixed April 25 to hear her statement over graft charges brought against her in the Zia Charitable Trust case which accuses her of embezzling 31.5 million Bangladeshi Taka ($4 lakh).

The court was scheduled to record her deposition on Sunday, but the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Zia’s lawyers petitioned for a fresh testimony of the investigating officer, which the court turned down.

The BNP chairperson’s counsel then appealed for a fresh cross-examination of the investigating officer, which was also dismissed. The court rejected the petition on re-examining the investigating officer as it found “no ground”, The Daily Star reported.

There was a heated argument between the prosecution and the defence when Judge Abu Ahmed Jamadar deferred recording Ms Zia’s statement and fixed April 25 to hear it.

In 2010, the Anti Corruption Comm-ission (ACC) had filed the case against Ms Zia and four others. In 2012, charges were pressed against four, including the two-time former Prime Minister Zia. In 2013, the trial began after the court indicted the four.

On March 31, the court had then fixed April 7 to hear Ms Zia’s statement, but it was deferred as the BNP chief pleaded for more time. Two others accused in the case — Ziaul Islam Munna and Monirul Islam Khan — have pleaded not guilty while Haris Chowhdury is absconding.

In February, Ms Zia was ordered to appear before a court to face trial in a separate $1.85 million graft case over contracting out cargo handling work to a company in exchange of kickbacks. Ms Zia and the co-accused were indicted in the case in September 2007 under a massive anti-graft campaign which was being spearheaded by the then interim government.