Khaleda not produced in court, 10 May next hearing

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson Khaleda Zia was not produced in the court on Sunday as the jail authorities said she was ‘unfit’. Judge Md Akhtaruzzaman of Special Judge's Court-5 extended the bail term and set 10 May the date for the next hearing of Zia Charitable Trust graft case. 

Mosharraf Hossain Kazal, who moved the case for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), asked the court to consider the possibility of a video conference as Khaleda, a former prime minister, was not produced in the court for the third time due to her illness.

“The court can consider video conference. Other countries are also using this method. We have recently seen that India dealt with the case of Lalu Prasad Yadav this way,” he added.

But Khaleda Zia’s lawyer Sanaullah Mia raised an objection.

“We have strong disapproval of a video conference. Prosecution is saying she is unfit, but they do not elaborate it,” he said.

Sanaullah Mia then filed a petition to extend the bail term of Khaleda Zia.

The BNP chair, convicted in the graft case, has been serving her five-year jail term at the old central jail on Nazimuddin Road since 8 February.