BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, who is currently serving a prison sentence, has told senior party leaders to expedite the ongoing trials against her.
On Sunday (Jan 13), she was produced at the Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-9, established on the premises of the old Dhaka Central Jail, for a hearing in the Niko graft case.
The former prime minister has been serving her term at old jailhouse on Dhaka’s Nazimuddin Road since February last year when she was convicted of embezzling foreign donations made to the Zia Orphanage Trust.
She has been also found guilty in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case by the Anti-Corruption Commission.
The Niko graft case accuses former prime minister Khaleda and ten others of abusing the power of their office to award a gas exploration and extraction deal to Canadian company Niko. The case was started by the Anti-Corruption Commission in 2007.
The court is now holding the hearings for charge framings.
Several senior BNP leaders, including Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and National Standing Committee member Jamiruddin Sircar, went to the court on Sunday.
After the court was adjourned Mirza Fakhrul had a one-to-one talk with part chief Khaleda.
“It was very brief. No political matters were discussed. Her (Khaleda’s) physical condition is not good. She asked to expedite the proceedings of ongoing trials against her,” senior leader Jamiruddin Sircar told Bangla Tribune.
BNP leader Moudud Ahmad, who argued for Khaleda in court on Sunday, said, “I didn’t have the opportunity to speak with her that much today. As I had a matter in the High Court involving charges against over 300 party activists.”
Asked whether, the BNP chief’s call for expediting the trial proceedings was due to a lack of coordination among her counsels, he replied, “Not at all. What she wants is to dispose of the cases as soon as possible.”
Moudud, who is one of the suspects in the Niko graft case, however, said, “But it sometimes occurs to me that if the counsels coordinate more than it would be better. But then again not madam (BNP chief Khaleda), every client stresses fast disposal of cases.”
The Niko graft case accuses former prime minister Khaleda and ten others of abusing power of their offices to award a gas exploration and extraction deal to Canadian company Niko. The case was started by the Anti-Corruption Commission in 2007.
They stand accused of causing the state a loss of Tk 137.77 billion in a non-transparent, corrupted contract with Niko during the BNP regime.
Others accused in the case are former law minister Moudud Ahmed, former state minister for energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain, former acting energy secretary Khandaker Shahidul Islam, and Kashem Sharif, vice-president (South Asia) of Niko Resources Bangladesh Ltd.
The BNP chief now faces trial in 37 charges.
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