Khaleda’s 11 cases: Hearings delayed again

A Dhaka court has once again delayed hearing 11 cases against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on charges of sedition and inciting violence.

Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Quamrul Hossain Molla set May 22 as the date for the next hearing after considering a petition by Khaleda’s lawyers.

Charges will be pressed against Khaleda on 10 of the cases and the court will have to take congisance of these cases at this hearing.

“Madam is unwell,” said Khaleda’s lawyer Jainul Abedin Mesbah. “As a result we petitioned for more time and the court accepted our request and set a new date for the hearing.”

The hearings have been delayed several times before.

Sedition charge

Speaking at a discussion on Dec 21 last year, Khaleda expressed doubts about the government's claims that nearly three million people had died during the 1971 Liberation War.

“There is a debate about how many hundreds of thousands were martyred in the Liberation War. Different books give different accounts,” she said.

The BNP chief had also said that Bangabandhu wanted to be the prime minister of undivided Pakistan rather than lead the country to independence.

Awami League leader and Supreme Court lawyer Momtaz Uddin Ahmed Mehedi sued the former prime minister for her remarks by bringing charges of sedition.

Eight cases of inciting violence

After the BNP was prevented from holding a rally on Jan 5,  2015 to protest the anniversary of the 10th Bangladesh Parliamentary Elections, Khaleda Zia called a nationwide blockade.

In the course of the blockade that lasted 90 days, vehicles and buildings were fire-bombed, leading to almost 150 deaths.

Numerous cases of inciting violence were filed at that time. Nine cases accusing Khaleda Zia were filed at the Darus Salam police station, eight under the Special Powers Act.

The court granted Khaleda bail in the cases. The cases under the Special Powers Act are awaiting an indictment hearing at the moment.

Jatrabarhi firebombing case

A petrol bomb explosion in Jatrabari’s Kather Pool area during last year’s blockades led to the injury of 30 bus passengers. One of the victims, Noor Alam, later died of burns.

Jatrabarhi police filed two cases, where Khaleda has been accused of inciting the attack.

Police pressed charges on the former prime minister and 37 others in the cases, one for the death and the other under the Explosives Act.