Hearings adjourned till July 17

Hearing of 11 cases filed against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was adjourned till July 17 by a Dhaka court yesterday.

Kamrul Hossain Mollah of Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court passed the order after Khaleda’s lawyer submitted 11 separate petitions seeking adjournment of the hearing.

The lawyer told the court that Khaleda had earlier filed writ petitions with the High Court seeking quashing of the case proceedings. The HC had already stayed trial proceedings of the 11 cases, he said.

Khaleda was not produced before the special court inside Keraniganj Central Jail.

Of the 11 cases, 10 were filed in the first three months of 2015 over arson attacks on vehicles. The other case was filed on charges of making seditious comments about freedom fighters and martyrs of the Liberation War.

Khaleda, accused in 34 cases, was sentenced to five years’ rigorous imprisonment in Zia Orphanage Trust graft case on February 8 last year. Later, her sentence was extended to 10 years by the High Court. She was also convicted for seven years in Zia Charitable Trust graft case.