Zia Charitable Trust case: Court renews bail for Khaleda until Mar 13

A Dhaka court has set Mar 13 as the date for the next hearing of arguments in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case and extended BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s bail until then.

The Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-5 made the announcement after the hearing on Monday after a petition from Khaleda Zia’s lawyers.

The BNP chief is currently serving time in prison after being sentenced to five years in jail in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on Feb 8.

Though the High Court has given Khaleda permission to appeal the conviction, it has not yet decided whether to grant her bail in the case. The court says it will make the decision after it receives the relevant documents from the trial court.

“The court has set Mar 13 and Mar 14 for the next two days of arguments,” Khaleda’s lawyer Nuruzzaman Tapan told bdnews24.com. “Khaleda Zia’s bail has been extended until Mar 13.”

“If she receives bail in the Zia Orphanage Trust case, she can appear before the court that same day. If she does not, the judge may order her to be brought to court.”

The Anti-Corruption Commission filed a case in 2010 against five BNP leaders, including Khaleda, accusing them of embezzling Tk 31.54 million from the Zia Charitable Trust case.

The charges were submitted in 2012 by the ACC investigating officer. A year later, the suspects were indicted.

The others accused in the case are Khaleda’s former political secretary Harris Chowdhury, his former personal assistant Ziaul Islam Munna, who is now the acting director (naval security and traffic) of BIWTA, and former Dhaka City mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka’s personal assistant Monirul Islam Khan.

Currently, 34 cases are pending against Khaleda in various courts across the country, including the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases.