A court has ordered the acquittal of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and eight others in a case filed against her for allegedly causing financial loss and corruption to the state through a 'non-transparent' deal with Naiko.
The court of Judge Rabiul Alam of Dhaka's Special Judge's Court-4 announced the verdict on Wednesday (February 19).
Khaleda Zia is currently in London for medical treatment. Her lawyer Mohammad Ziauddin Zia was present in court on her behalf today.
The other accused who were acquitted are Giasuddin Al Mamun, a close friend of BNP acting chairperson Tarique Rahman, Khandaker Shahidul Islam, former acting secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Selim Bhuiyan, former president of Dhaka Club, CM Yusuf Hossain, former senior assistant secretary, Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, Secretary of PM office, Mir Mainul Haque, former general manager of Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (Bapex), and Kashem Sharif, former president of Niko Resources (Bangladesh) Limited.
The arguments of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the accused were heard on February 13. On that day, Begum Zia's lawyer Aminul Islam heard the case in court seeking her acquittal. Out of 68 witnesses for the state in the case, 39 testified in court.
Khaleda Zia's lawyer Aminul Islam told the media that the court has acquitted all the accused, including BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, in the verdict of this case. Although one accused in this case had a confessional statement, it was not voluntary. The court has acquitted all the accused as the ACC could not prove the charges brought against them beyond doubt.
On December 9, 2007, the ACC filed a corruption case against Khaleda Zia at the Tejgaon Police Station in the capital. After investigating the case, a charge sheet was submitted to the court on May 5, 2008 against 11 people, including Khaleda Zia. On March 19 last year, the same court had rejected the acquittal of 8 accused, including Khaleda Zia, and framed the charges.