Dhaka – The Special Judge Court-5 of Dhaka, a makeshift court set up at Bakshibazar area in the capital on Thursday granted bail to BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia in the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases upon a bond of Tk one lakh each.Besides, the court asked the BNP leader to take its permission before leaving the country. Judge Dr Md Akhteruzzaman of the court also recorded the defence statement of Khaleda Zia from 12.15 noon to 1.15 pm and set October 26 for the next hearing.
However, the court turned down the bail petitions of two other accused- BNP’s former lawmaker Kazi Salimul Haq Kamal and businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed in the cases.
Earlier, Khaleda Zia appeared before the special court at about 11.20 am. Her lawyers appealed for recording her self-defence statements as the court earlier skipped the process since the BNP Chief was in London for treatment for three months.
The court granted the appeal and recorded Khaleda Zia’s statement seeking self-defense for one-hour. In the defence statement, she said, “The cases filed against me are false, motivated and filed to harass me. All the accusations of this case are completely imaginary and made up.”
The BNP Chairperson, who returned home from London on Wednesday after three months, is facing six arrest warrants in different cases.
This court of Dhaka has recently cancelled her bail and issued arrest warrants in the Zia Orphanage and the Zia Charitable Trust graft cases.
Two more warrants have been served on her in Dhaka in cases filed for “undermining” the country’s map and the national flag and for celebrating her “false birthday” on August 15 every year.
Other two warrants have been issued against the BNP leader in a Comilla court in two cases filed in connection with violence during the shutdown of February 2015.
Meanwhile, pro-BNP lawyers locked into a fistfight over briefing newsmen in front of media cameras on the makeshift court premises on Thursday after the process of court, that allowed Khaleda Zia bail in the two graft cases. The fistfight began amongst the lawyers of Khaleda Zia, immediately after she left the special court at 1.30 pm.
Some senior lawyers of the group controlled the untoward situation. – Special Correspondent
Khaleda Zia has been facing six arrest warrants in different cases, four with different Dhaka courts, two of them trying her for graft charges related to Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust.
Of the rests, two were for allegedly undermining the country’s map and the national flag and celebrating her “false birthday” on August 15 every year and the others over hartal violence in February 2015 while the last cases are being tried by courts in Comilla.
