[🇧🇩] Monitoring Khaleda Zia's political and health issues

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SC decision on Khaleda’s appeal today

The Anti-Corruption Commission on Sunday informed the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court that there was no misappropriation of funds of the Shaheed Ziaur Rahman...

www.newagebd.net

SC decision on Khaleda’s appeal today
Staff Correspondent 10 November, 2024, 13:34

Khaleda Zia. | File photo

The Anti-Corruption Commission on Sunday informed the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court that there was no misappropriation of funds of the Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Orphanage Trust and that the money remained unused in the trust’s account.

On February 8, 2018, a Dhaka Special Judge’s Court sentenced Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia to five years while five others, including her eldest son Tarique Rahman, were jailed for varying terms on the charge of embezzling Tk 2.10 crore from the orphanage trust.

The case alleged that the funds, intended for the trust, had been transferred to a private account.

Later, on October 30, 2018, the High Court Division doubled Khaleda’s sentence to 10 years following a petition by the ACC.

The High Court also dismissed the ex-prime minister’s appeal for acquittal.

ACC counsel Asif Hasan announced the commission’s revised stance, now in favor of Khaleda’s acquittal, before a three-member Appellate Division bench chaired by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to give its decision on her appeal on Monday by determining whether her sentence will be overturned.

The case, filed on July 3, 2008, under a military-backed caretaker government, initially claimed that Khaleda abused her position as a prime minister from 1991 to 1996 by misappropriating Tk 2.10 crore of the Tk 4.44 crore donated by the Saudi King to the Prime Minister’s Office for building the orphanage.

During hearings, Khaleda’s lawyers, Zainul Abedin and Kayser Kamal, argued that the conviction was ‘one-sided’ and politically motivated.

Attorney general Md Asaduzzaman suggested that the case was a form of political harassment, targeting Khaleda and her family members under both the army-backed interim government and the subsequent Awami League regime.

On November 3, 2024, the High Court also agreed to hear Khaleda’s separate appeal in the Zia Charitable Trust case, in which she was sentenced to jail for seven years in 2018.

Her sentences involving the cases relating to Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust were remitted by the president on August 6, a day after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime amid a student-mass uprising on August 5.

The BNP chairperson is now facing 16 other cases.

After the fall of the Hasina regime, different courts dismissed 19 cases against Khaleda.

The BNP chief’s lawyers argued that the president remitted Khaleda’s sentences while the appeal remained pending with the court.

Khaleda did not request administrative relief and she sought a legal resolution instead as it was a politically motivated case, they contended.

In March 2020, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the then Awami League regime, under an executive order, granted Khaleda’s conditional and temporary release due to her poor health condition.

The time of her release was extended several times until her sentences were remitted by the president.​

 

[Saif]

SC stays HC verdict on Khaleda’s sentence in Zia Orphanage Trust Case

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday stayed a 2018 High Court ruling that had extended Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s prison sentence from...

www.newagebd.net

SC stays HC verdict on Khaleda’s sentence in Zia Orphanage Trust Case
Staff Correspondent 11 November, 2024, 11:10

Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia. | Collected photo

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday stayed a 2018 High Court ruling that had extended Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s prison sentence from five years to 10 years in the Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Orphanage Trust case.

A three-member Appellate Division bench led by Justice Md Ashfaqul Islam granted the stay, temporarily halting the High Court’s order that had increased the trial court’s sentence and rejected Khaleda’s appeal seeking acquittal from embezzlement charges.

The Apex Court, simplifying the legal process for the former prime minister, also allowed her to file an appeal against the High Court decision without the need to prepare a paper-book.

Khaleda’s legal team was instructed to submit a concise argument on the appeal within two weeks.

On the expiry of two weeks, the team will have to seek a date from the chamber judge for holding a hearing on the appeal.

The High Court, responding to a petition submitted by the Anti-Corruption Commission, doubled Khaleda’s prison sentence on October 30, 2018,

On February 8, 2018, a Dhaka Special Judge’s Court sentenced Khaleda to five years and her son, Tarique Rahman, along with others, to varying prison terms over the alleged misappropriation of Tk 2.10 crore from the orphanage trust.

On Sunday, the ACC’s counsel, Asif Hasan, informed the Appellate Division that no evidence of fund misappropriation was found, and the Tk 2.10 crore, along with interest, remained intact in the trust’s account.

This revision of the ACC’s stance now supports Khaleda who is seeking acquittal.

The case, filed in 2008 during a military-backed caretaker government, accused Khaleda of misusing her position as prime minister from 1991 to 1996 to divert Tk 2.10 crore out of Tk 4.44 crore donated by the Saudi king.

The allegation claimed that the funds were transferred to a private account instead of being used for the orphanage.

The president on August 6, a day after the fall of the Awami League regime amid a student-mass uprising, remitted Khaleda’s sentences in both the Zia Orphanage and Zia Charitable Trust cases.

Khaleda currently faces 16 other cases, while 19 cases against her were dismissed after the fall of the AL regime on August 5.

Her legal team argued that the president had previously remitted her sentences in both the Zia Orphanage and Zia Charitable Trust cases, where she had received a seven-year sentence.

Her appeal in the Zia Charitable Trust case was accepted for hearing by the High Court on November 3.

During proceedings on Monday, Khaleda’s lawyers, Zainul Abedin and Kayser Kamal, argued that Khaleda sought a legal, not administrative, resolution.

They said that the case was politically motivated.

Attorney general Md Asaduzzaman suggested that the case was politically charged, targeting Khaleda and her family under the caretaker and subsequent Awami League governments, despite her lack of knowledge and involvement with the fund.

In March 2020, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Awami League government conditionally and temporarily released Khaleda on humanitarian grounds due to her poor health. Her release period was extended multiple times until remitting her sentences by the president.​

 

[Saif]

BNP’s Alal demands return of Khaleda’s cantonment house

BNP Chairperson’s Advisory Council member Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal on Friday demanded that the government return the party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s house on Shaheed Mainul Road in Dhaka Cantonment, which was taken back by the Awami League regime. Speaking to reporters at the grave of

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

BNP’s Alal demands return of Khaleda’s cantonment house
UNB
Published :
Nov 22, 2024 20:30
Updated :
Nov 22, 2024 20:30

BNP Chairperson’s Advisory Council member Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal on Friday demanded that the government return the party chairperson Khaleda Zia’s house on Shaheed Mainul Road in Dhaka Cantonment, which was taken back by the Awami League regime.

Speaking to reporters at the grave of BNP founder Ziaur Rahman, he also said BNP has confidence in the newly formed Election Commission, reports UNB.

“Khaleda Zia was forcibly ousted from her residence at Main Road in just a single dress, even before the case concerning the matter was resolved. The government should take steps to help her heal from the trauma associated with that house,” the BNP leader said.

Stating that the BNP chief was unfairly evicted from her cantonment house, he urged the government to take steps to ensure justice for her.

As the wife of a former Army Chief, Alal said it was natural for Khaleda to attend the Armed Forces Day reception in the cantonment, but she was unable to do so for nearly a decade.

“The expression of Khaleda Zia that we witnessed at Senakunja was like a bird that had been chained for years and was finally set free,” he observed.

Khaleda Zia attended the Armed Forces Day reception at Senakunja on Friday, after 11 years.

Alal, along with leaders and workers of Jatiyatabadi Prochar Dal, paid homage to late President Ziaur Rahman by placing a wreath at his grave in the capital, marking the 13th founding anniversary of the organisation.

On April 8, 2009, the Awami League government cancelled the allotment of Khaleda Zia’s Shaheed Mainul Road house in Dhaka Cantonment, citing several irregularities in the allotment within the military zone.

Subsequently, on November 13, 2010, she was evicted from the house where she had lived for 38 years, since her husband Ziaur Rahman served as deputy chief of the army. After Zia’s assassination in 1981, then Army Chief HM Ershad allocated the 2.72-acre property to her at a token price.

Asked for his comment on the formation of the new Election Commission (EC), Alal said BNP want to place its trust in the newly formed Commission. “We hope the Commission will demonstrate its competence through its actions, rather than engaging in excessive rhetoric.”

He also stated that the formation of the new EC marks the beginning of the electoral process. “We expect the reform work initiated by the government will be completed swiftly to facilitate the holding of the national election.”​

 

[Saif]

Khaleda Zia acquitted in two cases

Former prime minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia was acquitted in two cases related to the Barapukuria coalmine and the Zia Charitable Trust on Wednesday...

www.newagebd.net

Khaleda Zia acquitted in two cases
Staff Correspondent 27 November, 2024, 16:40

Khaleda Zia | BSS photo

Former prime minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia was acquitted in two cases related to the Barapukuria coalmine and the Zia Charitable Trust on Wednesday.

The High Court acquittal overturned a lower court verdict that sentenced her to seven years in prison in 2018.

The rulings marked a crucial legal victory for the veteran politician, who has faced numerous cases over the years.

The bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain also released her late political secretary Harris Chowdhury, and Monirul Islam, former private secretary to Dhaka’s ex-mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka.

The Anti-Corruption Commission had filed the Zia Charitable Trust case in 2011, alleging embezzlement of trust funds.

However, the High Court on Wednesday ruled in favour of Khaleda’s appeal, which argued that the charges were politically motivated.

Khaleda’s sentence in the case had been remitted by a presidential order following the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government and her subsequent fleeing to India facing a student-led uprising on August 5.

In a separate decision, Dhaka Special Judge Court-3 acquitted Khaleda and two former cabinet members, Altaf Hossain Chowdhury and Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, in the Barapukuria coalmine graft case.

Filed by the ACC in 2008, the case accused 16 individuals of misusing power to award a contract to a Chinese company, allegedly causing a loss of Tk 159 crore to the state.

Despite clearing Khaleda and her colleagues, the court framed charges against four other accused, paving the way for the trial to proceed.

Khaleda’s legal team hailed the decisions as a significant step toward justice.

Her senior counsel Zainul Abedin argued before the High Court that Khaleda had sought a legal resolution, refusing to rely on administrative relief.

He emphasised that the cases against her were part of a broader pattern of politically motivated charges.

Khaleda, who has faced a total of 37 cases, has now been cleared in at least 20 of them, according to her lawyer Zoynal Abedin Meshbah.

Five of the cases, including the Barapukuria and Zia Charitable Trust cases, were filed during the military-backed caretaker government with proceedings continuing under the Awami League government.

Despite Wednesday’s rulings, Khaleda’s legal battles are far from over.

Her appeal against a ten-year sentence in the Zia Orphanage Trust case remains pending with the Appellate Division.

The ACC had initially sought an increase in her sentence, which the High Court granted in 2018, raising it from five to ten years.

Another high-profile case involving Niko Resources, filed during the caretaker government, also remains pending at Dhaka Special Judge’s Court.

In March 2020, amid the Covid pandemic, the Awami League government granted Khaleda temporary release from prison under an executive order on conditions.

The conditional release has been extended multiple times to keep her out of jail considering her health condition.​

 

[Saif]

Chinese envoy meets BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen met BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia on Wednesday evening. The one-hour and 20-minute meeting, which began around 7:30 pm, was held at Khaleda Zia’s residence in the city’s Gulshan area, said BNP media cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan. The Chines

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Chinese envoy meets BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia
UNB
Published :
Dec 04, 2024 21:43
Updated :
Dec 04, 2024 21:43

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen met BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia on Wednesday evening.

The one-hour and 20-minute meeting, which began around 7:30 pm, was held at Khaleda Zia’s residence in the city’s Gulshan area, said BNP media cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan.

The Chinese ambassador exchanged greetings with Khaleda Zia and inquired about her health.

During the meeting, Yao Wen presented a traditional Chinese wall banner to the BNP chairperson.

BNP Standing Committee member Dr. AZM Zahid Hossain and Vice Chairman Altaf Hossain Chowdhury were also present.​