Continuous court dodging the reason

A Dhaka court yesterday issued arrest warrants against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia for skipping court hearings on four consecutive dates in two graft cases against her and eight others.

In her political career spanning over three decades, this is the first time Khaleda faces arrest warrants on charges of raising funds illegally for two charities and embezzling those.

She was earlier detained by the joint forces on September 2, 2007 during the caretaker government's tenure and kept behind bars for around a year.

While in detention, she was accused in four corruption cases, including Zia Orphanage Trust graft case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission on July 3, 2008. 

Yesterday morning, Special Judge's Court-3 issued warrants for Khaleda's arrest in the orphanage case and Zia Charitable Trust graft case filed by the ACC on August 8, 2011 during the previous tenure of the Awami League-led government. 

The proceedings of the other three cases against Khaleda were stayed by higher courts.

About the arrest warrants in orphanage and charitable trust cases, court officials said in the afternoon that those were yet to be sent to the police stations concerned.

Asked, officials at Gulshan and Cantonment police stations said they didn't get the warrants till 7:00pm.

However, Public Prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain Kajol told The Daily Star, "If police want to arrest Khaleda Zia now, they can do so. There is no legal bar in this regard."

Meanwhile, the BNP-led 20-party alliance warned the government that any attempt to arrest Khaleda would hasten its fall.

"As part of its last effort to stay in power, the government has moved to arrest Khaleda Zia," BNP Joint Secretary General Salahuddin Ahmed said in a statement on behalf of the alliance.

The court also issued arrest warrants against ex-BNP lawmaker Kazi Saleemul Haq and businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed in the orphanage graft case for not appearing before it.

The development comes at a time when the country is going through a political turmoil. The BNP-led alliance launched a non-stop blockade on January 6 and called a series of shutdowns to put pressure on the government for an early parliamentary election.Following the issuance of the warrants, journalists rushed to Khaleda's Gulshan office where she has been staying since January 3.   

As the opposition's agitation turned violent, ministers and leaders of the AL-led alliance accused Khaleda of instigating violence. They also demanded her arrest.

Special court Judge Abu Ahmed Jamadar yesterday directed the counsel of Tarique Rahman, Khaleda's elder son and an accused in the orphanage case, to produce him before the court on March 4, the next date for hearing.

BNP Senior Vice Chairman Tarique, who is on bail in the case, has been living in London since 2008.

His lawyer, Sanaullah Mia, also an adviser to the BNP chief, has been representing him in the court.

Unlike her son, Khaleda didn't file any application seeking an exemption from appearing before the court in person.

Since the case proceedings began eight years ago, she appeared before the court only on seven dates out of 63, claimed Public Prosecutor Kajol.

On previous occasions, she skipped court hearings, and her lawyers filed petitions for adjournment, citing various reasons, including her illness, lack of security and hartals. The court accepted the petitions.

The BNP chairperson, who last appeared before the court on December 24 last year, skipped hearings on four consecutive dates -- January 7, 15, and 29, and yesterday.

Her counsels yesterday filed four petitions with the court, seeking adjournment of hearing.

Sanaullah Mia, one of Khaleda's counsels, said they filed two petitions mentioning that Khaleda couldn't appear before the court for security reasons.

In the other two petitions, Sanaullah appealed to the court to adjourn recording of the complainant's depositions, as two writ petitions were pending with the High Court.

The BNP chief had earlier filed the writ petitions with the HC for its directive to transfer the cases from the Special Judge's Court-3, saying she wouldn't get justice from it.   

The special court, set up at Bakshibazar in Old Dhaka to hold trial of the two graft cases, rejected all four petitions yesterday.

It also turned down the petitions that Khaleda's counsels filed seeking a stay order on the arrest warrants. 

The court later recorded the statement of ACC Deputy Director Harunur Rashid, complainant of the orphanage case.

Supreme Court Bar Association President Khandker Mahbub Hossain, also adviser to the BNP chief, said they would decide on the next course of action after consulting with senior lawyers.

"We will approach the higher court and do everything in line with the law so that Khaleda Zia gets justice," he told reporters at his office in the afternoon.

He said the cases against the BNP chairperson were "politically motivated".

According to the charge sheet of the orphanage case, Khaleda, Tarique and four others embezzled Tk 2.1 crore by forming the charity that exists only on paper.

The statement of the other case said the BNP chief and three others abused power to collect Tk 6.19 crore for Zia Charitable Trust during the BNP-led government's tenure between 1991 and 1996.

The charities were named after Ziaur Rahman, founder of the BNP.

Meantime, pro-BNP lawyers sat last night to discuss the next course of action following the issuance of warrants.

BNP standing committee members Jamiruddin Sircar and Rafiqul Islam Mia, among others, attended the meeting at jurist TH Khan's Mohammadpur residence.