Khaleda gets bail on Niko graft case

Former Bangladeshi prime minister and opposition BNP chief Khaleda Zia is set to surrender before a trial court to face corruption charges over contracting a gas field to a Canadian company in exchange for kickbacks during her tenure as premier.

“She will appear before the Special Judge’s Court- 9 on Monday at 11.30 a.m.in line with the Supreme Court directives”, said Zia’s counsel, Mahbubuddin Khokon.

On June 18, a High Court division bench cleared the way for the trial proceedings to resume and ordered the head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to surrender before the trial court within two months.

The High Court on July 9, 2008 stayed proceedings of the case and issued a ruling after Zia filed the petition while it was subsequently upheld by the apex court as the statutory Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) challenged the High Court order.

Traffic movement have been restricted in the streets around the court area in Old Dhaka.

The court also directed the trial court to consider Khaleda’s bail petition, on condition that she did not misuse the bail.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has arrived at a Dhaka court to surrender before it in connection with the Niko corruption case filed during the army-backed caretaker government in 2007.

A beleaguered Zia is facing a series of other graft cases including two involving her assassinated husband’s charities.

Zia earlier said political vendetta was to blame for the cases against her and her sons.

Zia was prime minister from 1991-1996 and 2001-2006.