Khaleda ‘skipping’ Wednesday’s court appearance in graft cases hearing

Khaleda Zia, who has been staying at her Gulshan office since Jan 3, will likely skip a court appearance in two corruption cases on Wednesday.

A court has issued arrest warrant for the BNP chief in the Zia Charitable Trust and Zia Orphanage Trust graft cases last week.
 
The next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
 
Her lawyers and BNP leaders say they want to face the matter legally.
 
“We’ll move the High Court (Tuesday) to overturn the arrest warrant,” Mahbub Uddin Khokon told bdnews24.com on Monday.
 
But a senior party leader, who declined to be named for this report, said it was still uncertain whether Khaleda would go to court Wednesday.

“The chance is very slim,” he told bdnews24.com.

The last time the BNP chief appeared before a court in these two corruption cases was on Dec 24.

Her supporters had clashed with police that day and ruling Awami League MP Chhabi Biswas was also attacked.

The BNP chief has not come out of her office since the beginning of this year.

A court on Sunday issued a warrant to search the Gulshan office as police suspect there could be explosives and fugitives hiding there.

Awami League leaders have been urging her to go to court since the arrest warrant had been issued on Feb 25 for her failure to appear before it.

Maruf Kamal Khan, her press secretary, said the BNP chief was always “respectful of the law”.

“She has not decided anything about it (going to court on Wednesday). Her lawyers are dealing with it,” he told bdnews24.com.