Niko graft case: Khaleda challenges order allowing FBI as witnesses
Staff Reporter :
A petition has been filed with the High Court seeking its permission to cancel a trial court order that allowed the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to produce an official of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and two officials of Royal Canadian Mounted Police as witnesses in the Niko graft case.
Barrister Kayser Kamal, a counsel of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, one of the accused of the case, filed the revision petition on Wednesday on behalf of his client.
Meanwhile, a High Court bench on Wednesday fixed October 17 this year for holding hearing on another revision petition filed by Khaleda Zia, that challenged the legality of witnessing by seeing documents in the Niko graft case.
The High Court bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order after hearing the petition filed in this regard.
On September 17, a Dhaka court allowed the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to produce an official of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and two officials of Royal Canadian Mounted Police as witnesses in the Niko graft case.
The officials are Debra LaPrevotte Griffith of FBI and Kelvin Duggan and Lloyd Schoepp of Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Judge of the Special Judge’s Court-9 in Dhaka, Sheikh Hafizur Rahman, passed the order after a hearing the prosecution and defence on an application submitted by ACC on September 12.
Attorney General AM Amin Uddin on September 12 submitted the application with the court seeking permission to produce the three officials as witnesses in the case.
Meanwhile, the defense lawyers said they will move the High Court against the court order allowing ACC to produce foreign officials as witnesses.
On March 19, the same court framed charges against Khaleda and seven others in the case.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case in December 2007 over charges that Khaleda and 10 others abused power to award a gas exploration and extraction deal to Canadian company Niko when she was Prime Minister between 2001 and 2006.
A charge sheet was submitted in the court against 11 persons on May 5 in 2008 in the case.
Allegation of causing a financial loss of about Tk 137.77 billion to the state was brought in the charge sheet.
Three of the accused in the case, including former State Minister for Energy and BNP leader AKM Mosharraf Hossain and former Law Minister Moudud Ahmed, died earlier.
Their names were dropped from the charges of case.
