BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will not attend the hearings of Zia Charitable and Zia Orphanage Trust corruption cases scheduled to be held on Thursday.
Confirming the news Khaleda's lawyer Sanaullah Mia told the Dhaka Tribune: “She will not attend Thursday's hearings in two graft cases due to illness.”
The court is scheduled to record statements of the witnesses in connection with the Zia Charitable Trust case on the day.
The Anti-Corruption Commission filed one of the graft cases against Khaleda and five others for embezzling over Tk2.1 crore by forming a “fake” Zia Orphanage Trust that existed only on paper.
The other accused are Khaleda’s son Tarique Rahman, Ziaur Rahman’s nephew Mominur Rahman, Khaleda’s former principal secretary Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, former BNP lawmaker Kazi Salimul Haque Kamal and businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed.
The other case was filed by the anti-graft body in 2011 for abusing power in setting up the Zia Charitable Trust accusing Khaleda, her former political secretary Harris Chowdhury, his assistant private secretary Ziaul Islam Munna, and former Dhaka mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka’s assistant personal secretary and Monirul Islam Khan.
On March 19 last year, the court indicted Khaleda and her son Tarique Rahman in both the cases and began recording depositions of witnesses on September 22.
The court has so far recorded depositions of 25 out of 36 prosecution witnesses, including the complainant of the case, in the Zia Charitable Trust Case.