Khaleda Zia may attend graft cases hearing in Bangladesh

Bangladesh opposition leader Khaleda Zia, who faces an arrest warrant, may attend the hearings of graft cases against her tomorrow, a senior BNP leader said today.
The 69-year-old Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chairperson's hearing of the Zia Charitable Trust and Zia Orphanage Trust graft cases are scheduled for tomorrow.
"There's a possibility that she may appear before the court, but it depends on the situation," BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan was quoted as saying by bdnews24.
The three-time prime minister has been staying at her Gulshan office since Jan 3.
"She is a law-abiding citizen. She wants to attend the hearings and she will. Much however depends on the current situation, especially her security is a major concern," said one of her counsels Sanaullah Mia.

In 2008, Anti Corruption Commission filed the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case against six people, including Khaleda and her son Tarique.

It alleged that the defendants misappropriated USD 270,000 from funds meant for the trust, which reportedly came from a foreign bank.
In 2011, the anti-corruption watchdog prosecuted the BNP chief and three others for embezzlement of 31.5 million taka of the Zia Charitable Trust.
On March 4, the court of Dhaka's third special Judge Abu Ahmed Jamadar set the date after scrapping the defence's plea to withdraw an arrest warrant issued against Khaleda.
An arrest warrant was out for the BNP chief on February 25 after she failed to attend several hearings.