BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia today (October 11) filed a petition with the High Court challenging a lower court order that gave permission to three foreigners to testify against her and seven others in the Niko graft case.
 
"Allowing foreigners to come and testify in the case is beyond the jurisdiction. We have filed a petition, challenging that order," Khaleda Zia's lawyer Barrister Kaiser Kamal said.
 
Dhaka Special Judge's Court-9 on September 17, 2023, allowed a prosecution plea to produce former supervisory special agent Debra LaPrevotte Grifith of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kevin Duggan and Liyod Skuip of Royal Canadian Mounted Police and testify in the case.
 
The court passed the order, after holding hearing on a plea filed by Attorney General AM Amin Uddin on September 12.
 
Earlier on March 19, 2023, the court framed charges against the accused. Begum Khaleda Zia, who is now on bail, pleaded not guilty through her lawyer Masud Ahmed Talukder on that day and demanded justice.
 
The other accused in the case are- Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, Khandaker Shahidul Islam, CM Eusuf Hossain, Mir Moinul Haque, Gias Uddin Al Mamun, Selim Bhuiyan and Kashem Sharif.
 
The anti-graft body filed the case against five including Begum Khaleda Zia with Tejgaon police station on December 9, 2007, for abusing power in signing a deal with Canadian company Niko for exploring and extracting gas.
 
The ACC on May 5, 2008, submitted the charge-sheet against 11 people including Khaleda Zia. The ACC accused them of causing the incurring a loss of more than Taka 13 thousand crore to state exchequer by signing that deal.
 
As the three accused-Barrister Moudud Ahmed, AKM Mosharraf Hossain and Md Shafiur Rahman died of natural causes, they were discharged from the case, leaving the eight other accused to face justice.

BDST: 1720 HRS, OCT 11, 2023
MN/SMS