Sending Khaleda to jail will increase her popularity

Staff Correspondent: BNP Standing Committee member Barrister Moudud Ahmed has trashed the charges against the party chairperson Khaleda Zia in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case, dubbing it a politically motivated case.

“The case will not cause any harm to Khaleda Zia. It will rather increase her popularity and help her win the national election,” he said when presenting arguments for the BNP chief in court on Tuesday.

The Anti-Corruption Commission filed the case in 2008 against six people, including Khaleda and her eldest son Tarique Rahman, for allegedly misusing Tk2.1 crore from the trust’s fund.

Three years later, the ACC accused Khaleda and three others of misappropriating Tk3.15 crore from the Zia Charitable Trust fund.

Khaleda’s lawyer wrapped up arguments in the orphanage trust graft case on Tuesday. Lawyers of other accused will now present argument before Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of Dhaka’s Fifth Special Judge Court.

When presenting his argument, Moudud Ahmed said that the case was based on three matters.

“The case would have been scrapped long ago if the three matters were analyzed. Since the case is political, it was filed to harass Khaleda Zia,” Moudud claimed.

He said the BNP chairperson’s sign was on none of the papers related to the case.

Moudud said Khaleda was being tried under a law formed during her government. “We formulated the law after much research but now see that it is used only on the opposition just like Fakhruddin-Moeen-led government,” he added.

The last caretaker body had incarcerated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for 11 months by implicating her in 14 cases. It also kept Khaleda behind bars for over a year after accusing her in four cases, Moudud added.

risingbd/Dhaka/January 16, 2018/Mamun Khan/A K Azad