14 cases against Khaleda shifted to Bakshibazar makeshift court

The trial of fourteen more cases including three graft cases filed against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will be now held at a makeshift court at Alia Madrassa in Dhaka’s Bakshibazar area.

The Law and Justice Division of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs on Sunday issued three gazette notifications regarding the trial of the cases.

The trial of Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases filed against Khaleda are now going on the same makeshift court. The trial of the two cases is at the last stage.

Talking to reporters at the secretariat, Law Minister Anisul Huq said the cases against Khaleda Zia were shifted to a single court for security concern, not for any political reason.

"The proceedings of the cases will continue in the due process of law," the minister added.

Earlier, the same division of the ministry issued the same kind of gazette notification for the trial of the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust graft cases considering the security reasons for the BNP chief.

Of the 14 cases, three graft cases --Gatco, Niko and Boropukuria Coalmine graft cases filed during the army-backed caretaker government -- pending with three special judge courts, nine arson cases filed during the anti-government demonstration by BNP-led-20 party alliance with Jatrabari and Darussalam police stations.

All the nine cases are now pending with the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court.

But trial proceedings of most of the arson cases were earlier stayed by the High Court following writ petitions challenging the legality of the order for taking cognizance of the charges on different dates, said one of Khaleda’s lawyers Zainul Abedin Meshbah.