Khaleda asks for more security to attend court hearing

Former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia has asked for more security to attend the next hearing of her corruption case in the wake of violence over her previous court appearance.

Her lawyer Zakir Hossain Bhuiyan filed a general diary (GD) seeking safety of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson at Chawkbazar police station in Dhaka, bdnews24.com reported.

"When (Khaleda) was on her way to the hearing of ACC (Anti-Corruption Commission) case at the Bakshibazar court (in Dhaka) Dec 24, the area came under attack. There is another hearing Jan 7. We are filing the general diary on security concerns," he said.

But the Chawkbazar police sub-inspector Jalal Uddin said the GD had not been recorded yet.

Khaleda attended the hearing at the Bakshibazar special court amid clashes between her BNP and Awami League activists.

The hearing of her Zia Orphanage Trust graft case is being held in that court.

The hearing was deferred that day and set for Jan 7 following Khaleda's appeal.

The BNP's acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir blamed the ruling party, saying the "attack" was targeted at Khaleda and that it was led by the Bangladesh Chhatra League president.

The Awami League's Netrakona-1 member of parliament (MP) Chhabi Biswas was assaulted and injured during the clash while his car was set ablaze. The Awami League has held BNP activists responsible for the violence.

Police have filed two cases over the attack on the MP at Chawkbazar and Shahbagh police station in Dhaka, accusing over 150 BNP activists.

BNP standing committee member Goyeshwar Chandra Roy and Chawkbazar Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal chief Moazzem Hossain Alal have already been arrested in the cases.

Although media published images of Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders with firearms, police did not accuse anyone from the Awami League's student affiliate in the case.