Arrest warrant issued against Khaleda Zia

A court has issued an arrest warrant against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the Zia Orphanage and Zia Charitable Trust corruption cases.

Dhaka Special Judge No. 5, Dr. Akhtaruzzaman, issued the warrant on Thursday at the Alia Madrasa grounds in Bakshibazar, the capital, for failing to appear in court.

BNP Chairperson's lawyer Tapan Chowdhury confirmed the issuance of the arrest warrant.

It is learnt that today, he was scheduled to give his unfinished statement in his defense in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case and his defense in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case. However, he did not appear in court citing security reasons due to the half-day strike called by the left parties.

On August 8, 2010, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against Khaleda Zia and four others at Tejgaon Police Station, alleging illegal money transactions in the name of Zia Charitable Trust. The other accused in the case are Khaleda Zia's former political secretary Harish Chowdhury, Harish's then assistant private secretary and acting director of BIWTA's maritime safety and traffic department Ziaul Islam Munna, and Monirul Islam Khan, private secretary to former Dhaka mayor Sadeq Hossain Khoka.

On the other hand, the ACC filed another case at Ramna Police Station against Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman, including six others, for embezzling funds from the Zia Orphanage Trust two years before the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case. The other accused in the case are former Magura MP Kazi Salimul Haque Kamal, businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed, former Prime Minister's Office secretary Kamal Uddin Siddiqui and former President Ziaur Rahman's nephew Mominur Rahman.