Charitable Trust graft: HC to hear Khaleda’s appeal on Apr 31

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Bangla Tribune Desk
Published : 20:01, Apr 23, 2019 | Updated : 20:05, Apr 23, 2019

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia attends a rally in Dhaka January 20, 2014.  REUTERS/File PhotoThe High Court has fixed Apr 31 to hear BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's appeal challenging the verdict sentencing her to seven years in jail in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case.
The bench of Justice Obaidul Hassan and SM Kuddus Zaman on Tuesday fixed the date, after hearing a petition in this regard file by Khaleda’s lawyers.
Advocate Zainul Abedin, Barrister Kaiser Kamal and AKM Ehsanur Rahman represented Khaleda in court during the hearing.
On Nov 18, 2018, Khaleda had filed the appeal on 20 grounds, asking the court to scrap the verdict and fine and grant her bail.
In October, A Dhaka special judge’s convicted the former prime minister of embezzling funds of the Zia Charitable Trust, sentencing her to seven years of rigorous imprisonment.
She was also fined Tk 1 million and six months additional jail term for failing to pay the fine.
Apart from her, the court also sentenced Harris Chowdhury, political secretary to then prime minister Khaleda; his assistant personal secretary Ziaul Haq Munna; and Monirul Islam Khan, assistant personal secretary to then Dhaka mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka.
The court also ordered confiscation of the 42 katha of land bought in the trust’s name.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case in August 2011.
On Feb 8 last year, the same court had sentenced Khaleda to another five-year imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case.
Her son Tarique Rahman and four others — Kamal Uddin Siddique, Kazi Salimul Haque, Sharfuddin Ahmed and Khaleda’s nephew Mominur Rahman — were sentenced to 10 year in prison in this case too.
However, the High Court later on Oct 30 dismissed Khaleda’s appeal in the Orphanage Trust case and doubled her sentence to 10 years.

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