Dhaka: Former Bangladeshi premier Khaleda Zia and her fugitive son were on Wednesday charged with corruption by a court here for allegedly collecting nearly $1 million in donations for charities named after her late husband.
Ms Zia, 68, the chief of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), appeared before the court after skipping 41 hearings in the past.
She was charged along with her fugitive elder son and BNP’s senior vice president Tarique Rahman and four others in connection two charitable organisations, which allegedly existed in papers alone.
If convicted, the two time former premier might be jailed for life.
The indictment came after hours of pandemonium which forced Judge Bashudev Roy to briefly leave the courtroom twice as the pro BNP lawyers shouted, demanding adjournment of the hearing and allowing Zia to move to the High Court. Her legal team said that Zia had no confidence in the court.
Ms Zia appeared before the court as the judge on February 16 warned her of serving arrest warrant if she failed to turn up.
During the past military backed interim government, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in July 2009 filed a graft case against Ms Zia, Mr Rahman and four others for embezzling nearly $ 1 million by forming the “fake” trust.
