Khaleda Zia ordered to appear before court in sedition case

Former Bangladesh prime minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)  chief Khaleda Zia was on Thursday ordered to appear before a city court on January 9 in connection with a sedition case, while she pleaded not guilty in another corruption case.

The court of Metropolitan Sessions Judge Quamrul Hossain Molla was scheduled to hold the hearings of indictment in 10 cases, including sedition against the 71-year-old leader. But her counsels asked for more time, which the court granted.

The hearing has now been scheduled to January 9, but the judge warned that it would cancel the former Prime Minister’s bail if she failed to attend it, said Additional Prosecutor Tapash Paul.

Zia also appeared before Dhaka’s Third Special Judge in connection with the Zia Orphanage Trust case and pleaded not guilty, adding that she wanted to produce witnesses to testify for her.

The three-time prime minister is among the five, who stand accused of embezzling Taka 31.5 million in the case filed by the Anti Corruption Commission in 2010. The other accused in the case are Zia’s former political secretary Harris Chowdhury, his personal assistant Ziaul Islam Munna, former Dhaka City mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka’s personal assistant Monirul Islam Khan.