Decision on Khaleda’s appeal today

The High Court (HC) will decide today whether the appeal by BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will be heard or not. 

The court set Thursday to hear the appeal after it was placed before a bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Shahidul Karim. 

Earlier, a day after receiving the certified copy of the lower court verdict, lawyers of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia filed an appeal with the High Court challenging her sentence in the Zia Orphanage Trust case on last Tuesday afternoon.

In the 1,222-page appeal, the BNP chief sought bail and prayed to the HC to acquit her of the corruption charge after setting aside the lower court verdict. 

The appeal mentioned a total of 44 legal points to scrap the trial court verdict.

The lawyers of Khaleda would also file a petition with the High Court today seeking her bail.

Barrister Moudud Ahmed, a senior lawyer of Khaleda’s defence team hoped that their client will get bail in the graft case on Thursday.

ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan said: “We are ready. The appeal will be resisted in court.”

The Dhaka special court-5 convicted the former Prime Minister and BNP chairperson and sentenced her to five years' imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

She was then sent to old central jail at Nazimuddin Road in the city.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on July 3, 2008 with Ramna Police Station accusing Khaleda, her eldest son Tarique Rahman, now living in the UK, and four others of misappropriating over 2.10 crore that came as grants from a foreign bank for orphans.