Khaleda's bail extended for a year in defamation cases

The High Court today extended for one year its earlier order that granted bail to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in two separate defamation cases.

The High Court bench of Justice Muhammad Abdul Hafiz and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo passed the order following two separate petitions filed by Khaleda seeking extension of its earlier order.

Earlier on June 18 this year, the High Court bench led by Muhammad Abdul Hafiz granted six months bail in the same cases.

AB Siddique, president of Bangladesh Jananetri Parishad, a pro-AL organisation, filed the cases against her on charges of hurting religious sentiments of Muslims and making derogatory comments on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

He filed one case with a Dhaka court on October 21, 2014, claiming that on October 14 of the same year, Khaleda at a programme at the Engineers Institution in Dhaka said “the ruling party’s [AL] professed secularism was nothing but a sham”. He said her remarks hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims.

He filed the other defamation case against Khaleda with another Dhaka court on January 25, 2017, claiming that she had made derogatory remarks on Sheikh Mujib.

Khaleda filed two bail petitions with the HC on May 22.

She landed in jail on February 8 last year after being convicted in a corruption case involving the Zia Orphanage Trust, filed during the 2007-08 military-backed caretaker government rule.

A Dhaka court on October 29 last year sentenced her to seven years in jail in Zia Charitable Trust case filed with Tejgaon Police Station on August 8, 2011.

The HC on October 31 last year increased her jail sentence to 10 years in that case.

The HC on April 30 this year accepted the BNP chairperson’s appeal to quash a trial court verdict that sentenced her to seven years in jail in Zia Charitable Trust case and ordered the lower court officials to submit the case documents before it in two months for examining.

AJ Mohammad Ali appeared in court for Khaleda while Deputy Attorney General Fazlur Rahman Khan opposed the bail petitions yesterday.