A special court in Dhaka yesterday (Thursday) fixed February 8 for delivering its verdict in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, her son Tarique Rahman and four others. In a jam-packed courtroom, Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of special court-5 fixed the date after conclusion of the final arguments from the defence and the prosecution. The court heard closing arguments for 16 working days. Overall, the court heard the case for 236 working days.
As per provision of the law, if the allegations against the BNP chief are proven beyond reasonable doubt, the court can give her life imprisonment. The defence lawyers hope that the BNP chief and others would be acquitted as the prosecution has failed to prove any allegation against their clients. On the other hand, the prosecution feels all the accused would get the highest sentence (life term). The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) lawyer, Mosharraf Hossain Kazal, told reporters that they
have been able to prove the allegations and expected the court to award life imprisonment to the accused in the case.
Advocate Abdur Rezzak Khan, one of the defence lawyers, told reporters that the prosecution has failed to prove any allegation against Khaleda and that the case was a politically motivated one. “So, we hope the court will acquit the BNP chief to ensure justice,” he added.
The ACC filed the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, accusing Khaleda, her eldest son Tarique Rahman and four others of misappropriating more than Tk. 2.10 crore (21 million) that had come as grants from a foreign bank for orphans. It was filed on July 3, 2008 during the quasi-military regime of Fakhruddin Ahmed.
The four other accused are former BNP lawmaker Salimul Haq Kamal, businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed, Kamal Uddin Siddique, former principal secretary to then prime minister Khaleda Zia, and Mominur Rahman, nephew of the late president Ziaur Rahman. Of the six accused, Khaleda is on bail, while Salimul and Sharfuddin are in jail.
The three others, including Tarique, are on the run. The BNP chief approached the High Court (HC) as well as the Supreme Court (SC) for staying the trial process, but her pleas were rejected. The lower court started the trial proceedings at the end of last year.
On December 19 last year, public prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain Kajal concluded his arguments and sought the highest punishment for the BNP chairperson and the others.
During the hearing, Kajal argued that the charges against Khaleda and the others had primarily been proven. “Instead of using foreign aid for the welfare of orphans, these persons kept laundering the money over the years,” he said.
He also said that the defence had been unable to refute the testimonies of the 32 witnesses in the case. He appealed to the court to award the highest punishment to the accused in accordance with the law, as the allegation against them has been proven. A day after the prosecution’s argument, the defence lawyers started their closing arguments on December 20. They concluded their closing arguments and sought Khaleda’s acquittal, saying the ACC filed the “politically motivated” case based on forged documents.
The defence lawyers also drew the attention of the court to statements made by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and other Awami League leaders relating to the conviction. They wanted to know whether these could be considered as interference in the functioning of the court.
Senior jurist Moudud Ahmed told the court: “We couldn’t work freely. It was a coercive trial… not a trial at all. It was filed only to harass the BNP chairperson. It’s a political case in the guise of a corruption case. The prosecution has utterly failed to prove the charges against Khaleda.”
The same court yesterday fixed January 30 and 31 and February 1 for hearing of arguments in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case.
On August 8, 2011, the ACC filed the case with Tejgaon police station, accusing four people, including Khaleda Zia, of abusing power in raising funds for the trust from unknown sources.
Apart from the two cases, the law ministry had, on January 8, this year shifted 16 cases filed against Khaleda to the makeshift court at Bakshibazar in Old Dhaka.
The BNP chief is now facing 37 cases for various allegations including corruption, hurling bombs, setting fire to bus at Jatrabari in the city and preventing law enforcement agencies from discharging their duties.