Ahead of verdict, BNP says Khaleda’s trial is a ‘plot to keep it out of election’

After Khaleda Zia met her senior advisers ahead of the verdict on Zia Orphanage Trust graft case against her, the BNP says it thinks the trial is ‘part of a conspiracy to keep them out of the next general elections’.

Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir briefed the media after the meeting of the BNP National Standing Committee at Khaleda’s Gulshan office on Saturday night.

He said the committee condemned the ‘false, imaginary and politically intentional case’.

He said the policymakers thought Khaleda and the five others accused of embezzling Tk 21 million in the case were ‘innocent’.

“The government is acting beyond law and justice. We strongly condemn this,” he said.

The BNP leader urged the people to launch a democratic movement against the ‘government conspiracy in the name of trial’.

He also said they were not announcing any programmes over the verdict now. “We will let you know once the verdict is out.”

Dhaka’s Fifth Special Judge’s Court will deliver the verdict in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on Feb 8.

Khaleda is among six accused of embezzling Tk 21 million in foreign donations meant for the Trust when she was prime minister from 2001 to 2006.

They face up to life in prison if found guilty of the charges. In case of conviction, Khaleda will be disqualified for running in the next parliamentary elections.

The BNP alleges the government is prosecuting Khaleda to settle political scores - an allegation the government has denied all along, saying the judiciary is acting independently.

On Saturday, Mirza Fakhrul said, “The nation is concerned and irked over the verdict date. We think it is a deep-rooted conspiracy to destroy democracy in Bangladesh and sabotage an inclusive election.”

The BNP sits out of parliament after boycotting the 10th parliamentary elections held on Jan 5, 2014, which was marred also by widespread violence in the lead-up to and after the balloting.

The Awami League has swatted away its arch-rival’s calls for dialogue ahead of the election this time, referencing the violence unleashed by the BNP and its ally Jamaat-e-Islami even though Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had offered talks back then.

The ruling party is firm on its position to hold the next election with Hasina presiding over.

Amid the standoff, the BNP leaders say the delivery of the verdict in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case has been rushed.

“Our senior lawyers consider it not only abnormal and unexpected, but also suspicious,” Mirza Fakhrul said.

“The people think the hasty delivery of the verdict is a part of the conspiracy to keep the BNP and Khaleda Zia out of the national election,” he added.

He also said comments by the leaders of the Awami League and its allies about the case against Khaleda have ‘vindicated the link between the verdict and the polls’.

“The government apparently knows what the court judgment will be even though the case is on trial,” he said.