A special court in Dhaka yesterday termed the cases against BNP chief Khaleda Zia “unprecedented” and warned journalists to maintain journalistic ethics while covering the trials.
‘The verbatim of the cross-examinations [of complainant] of the last date [July 23] were published in different media. It seems that it was recorded... You [the journalists] will have to maintain ethics,” the Special Judge’s Court 3 judge, Md Abu Ahmed Jamadar, said at the start of hearing in two cases against Khaleda and eight others.
Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, counsel for Khaleda, however pointed out to the court that the verbatim proceedings of all politically sensitive cases including the Bangabandhu murder case had previously been published.
‘There was nothing wrong, since whatever was said in the court was published exactly the same way in the dailies,” said Mahbub.
The judge, however, said the cases against Khaleda were “unprecedented.”
During yesterday’s proceedings, the court allowed the defence counsel to cross-examine ACC Deputy Director Harun-or-Rashid, the complainant in the Zia Charitable Trust fund graft case, for the third day in the presence of Khaleda and the others; Harun is also the complainant of the Zia Orphanage Trust case. Both cases are being tried by the same court in a makeshift courtroom on Central Jail Parade Ground.
During the cross-examination, the defence counsel asked what the post of the complainant was when he filed the case. Harun, the complainant, replied he was an assistant director of the corruption watchdog.
“So you were promoted to deputy director after the filling the case?” the defence counsel asked. The complainant told the court that he was promoted along with 30 others in his department at the time.
Replying to another query, the complainant said the charitable trust paid a total of Tk65,207,000 to a landlord for his land and its property, while an additional Tk12,493,000 was also paid to the landowner.
Citing the upcoming Bar Council election scheduled for August 26, the defence counsels sought a long adjournment; the court, however, adjourned the proceedings until August 10.
Meanwhile, minutes before the hearing, Khaleda chatted with the public prosecutor, Musharraf Hossain Kajol. Lawyers who flanked Khaleda told the Dhaka Tribune that she greeted the prosecutor and asked him whether the witness had been tutored efficiently.
Kajol, however, refused to comment to the media regarding Khaleda Zia.
