Khaleda’s lawyer says decision on her legal step not yet taken

Khaleda Zia’s lawyer Mahbub Uddin Khokan has said they are yet to decide on the legal recourse the BNP chief will take in the wake of arrest warrant issued for her.

He said at a press briefing in Dhaka on Thursday that they had a brainstorming session at senior lawyer TH Khan’s residence to decide the ‘needful’ but the law enforcers surrounded the house.
 
“We sat yesterday. You know what happened yesterday. Lawyers will make decision after thoroughly discussing the matter in a peaceful environment. We couldn’t do that yesterday,” Khokan said.
 
“We’ll sit again and decide (the matter).”
 
Dhaka’s Special Judge Court-3 on Wednesday issued arrest warrants for Khaleda as she did not appear before it on two dates in Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases.
 
Khokan, also the general secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association, alleged the court had cancelled her bail ‘to help the government in this troubled time’.
 
Asked if there is any legal way for Khaleda to escape arrest, he said: “Definitely there are ways. Our senior lawyers will decide (the matter) sitting together.”
 
Khokan alleged they could not reach a decision due to ‘actions’ of the law enforcement agencies.
 

File Photo

“RAB, police and Detective Branch surrounded the house. They (lawyers) were confined for five hours. They (law enforcers) did it to prevent Begum Khaleda Zia from taking legal assistance and terrify lawyers,” he said.

He claimed ‘lawyers of the country’ were panicked by the law enforcers’ actions.

The SCBA general secretary condemned the actions and demanded explanation from the government.

Khokan said lawyers could not carry on their professional duties and meet Khaleda due to interference of law enforcement agencies.

Money in question not embezzled

Khokan claimed that the money for which Khaleda was sued had not been misappropriated.

The money was paid in advance for purchase of a piece of land for Zia Orphanage Trust but later the land owner backed out of the sale agreement.

The Anti Corruption Commission prosecuted Khaleda, her son Tarique Rahman and four others on July 3, 2008 over embezzlement of the trust money.

The makeshift Dhaka Special Judge Court-3 established on Dhaka Alia Madrasa ground in the capital framed charges against them on Mar 19 last year.