Court upholds arrest warrant for Khaleda Zia

A Dhaka court has upheld an arrest warrant it issued on Feb 25 for BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in cases filed by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC).

After hearing Khaleda’s pleas to withdraw the warrant, to uphold her bail and defer the hearings, the court of Dhaka’s Third Special Judge Abu Ahmed Jamadar told the defence that his previous orders remained effective.

The court did not either accept or reject the petitions, but included those in the case documents.

It also allowed lawyers of Khaleda’s eldest son Tarique Rahman to continue representing him at hearings of the case.

There was no hearing on testimonies of witnesses on Wednesday, though seven of them were present. The court has set Apr 5 to hear the testimonies.

Meanwhile, the prosecution claims that Khaleda is a fugitive, as she had not surrendered to the court even after an arrest warrant was out for her.

“There’s no way of hearing Khaleda’s petitions since she had not surrendered to the court,” ACC lawyer Mosharraf Hossain Kajal told reporters after Wednesday’s hearings.

“The court heard the matter since senior lawyers represented her at the court. The court included the pleas in the case documents, but did not accept them,” he said.

Apart from the special judge’s court, Khaleda has also filed a petition with the High Court to withdraw the arrest warrant.

The bench of justices Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Md Khasruzzaman will hear the matter on Thursday along with the no-confidence motion on the trial court’s judge, says the defence counsel.

The arrest warrant was issued after the former prime minister failed to appear in several hearings.

The court had also then instructed Tarique Rahman’s lawyers to produce him before the court on Wednesday. He has been living in London since 2008 after being released in parole.

On Tuesday, Khaleda filed the petition to the court to withdraw the arrest warrant.

Her chief counsel and advisor Khandaker Mahbub Hossain’s statements to media the same day made it very clear that she would not be appearing in court on Wednesday.

Hossain said the BNP chairperson would only go to the court on conditions of adequate security and an assurance that she could return to her Gulshan office after the hearing.

Journalists thronged in front of her office since morning amid speculations that she may be arrested after not surrendering in court.

“Khaleda Zia respects the law. Her counsels are looking into the matter and she would decide what to do upon their advice,” Press Secretary to the BNP chief Maruf Kamal Khan told reporters on Wednesday.

The court, however, proceeded with the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases in absence of Khaleda around 11:30am.

It heard pleas to withdraw the arrest warrant, to uphold her bail, defer the hearings and allow lawyers to represent Khaleda in court.

Defence counsel AJ Mohammad Ali told the court ‘security concerns’ were the reason for her not turning up in the court.

Citing a no-confidence motion filed with the High Court over the judge, he said: “This is a media trial which is evident from the judge’s orders. We have filed a no-confidence motion with the higher court and the matter is yet to be resolved.”

Citing Khaleda’s absence despite an arrest warrant, the judge then asked the prosecution: "She has not appeared in court. Do her lawyers have the jurisdiction to file such petitions?"

ACC lawyer Kajal replied: “She has no jurisdiction to file such petitions as she has not turned up for the hearings.”

A heated exchange erupted between the lawyers and after a while the hearing resumed.

After hearing the defence and prosecution, the judge said that the arrest warrant will remain effective and adjourned the court.

ACC lawyer Kajal told reporters after the hearing that the court did not accept Khaleda’s pleas as the defence did not have any legal grounds.

“Khaleda Zia might be arrested any time since the warrant remains effective or she can surrender to the court,” he said replying to a query from the media.

According to the prosecutor, they opposed the petition to allow lawyers to represent Khaleda at court as ‘there were no such provisions in the Code of Criminal Procedure’.

On the no-confidence motion by the defence, he said ”The judge said he has not done anything that would hinder the trial.

"There’s nothing else to do other than to continue with the trial since the defence is yet to secure an order from the higher court on the matter, said the judge.”

According to the ACC lawyer, the court has deferred witness testimonies for a month so that the matter of no-confidence motion can be resolved.

Speaking on the note of Tarique Rahman, Kajal said: “Tarique’s lawyer informed the court that he is still sick. We said that he should be given some time and can be represented at the court by lawyers."

In 2008, ACC filed the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case against six including Khaleda and her son Tarique.

It alleged that the defendants misappropriated Tk 21 million from funds meant for the trust, which reportedly came from a foreign bank.

In 2011, the anti-corruption watchdog prosecuted the BNP chief and three others for embezzlement of Tk 31.5 million of the Zia Charitable Trust.