Khondoker Delwar urges court to send Tarique, Koko abroad for treatment
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
A special court that deals with corruption cases Tuesday further deferred to June 16 the charge hearing in the GATCO scam case against detained former Prime Minister and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, her younger son and eight former ministers, among others, reports UNB.
Granting defence time petitions, Judge Shahed Noor Uddin passed the order of deferment.
The defence counsel prayed for time as they received only Tuesday the relevant papers from the prosecution in connection with the case for browsing. Besides, they did not even consult their clients in connection with the case.
Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon, the defence counsel for Koko, Khaleda Zia's younger son, prayed for adjournment stating that his client is "physically unfit" for standing trial. "Law does not approve an unfit accused to be put in the dock for trial," he submitted.
Echoing Khokon's reasoning, Abdur Rezzaque Khan, counsel for Khaleda, submitted that the court proceedings cannot continue keeping a sick person in the dock as he or she "cannot conceive what is going on in the court and give instruction to his or her lawyer from time to time during the trial".
Defence-counsel Khondoker Delwar Hossain, also the BNP secretary general, urged the court for orders allowing Khaleda's two ailing sons - Tarique Rahman and Koko - to go abroad for better treatment.
Delwar submitted that before taking decision in this regard the court could call for records of the government-constituted medical board for Khaleda'a ailing sons for ends of justice.
Referring to the court orders in the case of detained Awami League president and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been exempted from personal attendance during her trial, Delwar told the court that "justice should be equally done for all".
Opposing Khondoker Delwar, Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) public prosecutor Golam Hafiz told the court that they did not receive any such petition under section 540A(1) from the defence.
The court resumed at 11:20am after Khaleda Zia was produced before it, followed by her younger son Arafat Rahmat Koko, amid an unusually tight security in and around the parliament-building complex.
Earlier, the other detained accused, including six ex-ministers, were produced in the court. They are former LGRD minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, former health minister Khondoker Mosharraf Hossain, former land minister M Shamsul Islam, former agriculture minister MK Anwar, former state minister for energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain and former industries minister Motiur Rahman Nizami of Jamaat-e-Islami.
Khaleda Zia'a son, Arafat Rahman Koko, was brought onto the court premises from a hospital prison cell by an ambulance. Later he was pushed in courtroom in a wheelchair along with a stand-by oxygen cylinder beside him followed by a physician.
Of the 24 accused, 17 were produced before the court and the remaining 7 are on the run, including former finance minister M Saifur Rahman and former commerce minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, who live abroad.
On May 13, the anti-corruption watchdog ACC, after investigations, submitted charge sheet to the court in the GATCO case.
The ACC filed the case with the Tejgaon Police Station on September 2 last year against Khaleda and her son and others for graft in awarding GATCO the contract for container handling at depots in Dhaka and Chittagong.
The following day, joint forces arrested Khaleda Zia and her son Koko from their Dhaka Cantonment residence, as a purge has been underway in the interim period.
The accused persons are charged with causing a loss of over Tk 140 million to the public exchequer by striking the container-handling deal with GATCO despite the firm's "lack of experience and skills".
Misuse of power and collusion among the accused in violating the tender conditions are among the charges brought under the case.
Granting defence time petitions, Judge Shahed Noor Uddin passed the order of deferment.
The defence counsel prayed for time as they received only Tuesday the relevant papers from the prosecution in connection with the case for browsing. Besides, they did not even consult their clients in connection with the case.
Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon, the defence counsel for Koko, Khaleda Zia's younger son, prayed for adjournment stating that his client is "physically unfit" for standing trial. "Law does not approve an unfit accused to be put in the dock for trial," he submitted.
Echoing Khokon's reasoning, Abdur Rezzaque Khan, counsel for Khaleda, submitted that the court proceedings cannot continue keeping a sick person in the dock as he or she "cannot conceive what is going on in the court and give instruction to his or her lawyer from time to time during the trial".
Defence-counsel Khondoker Delwar Hossain, also the BNP secretary general, urged the court for orders allowing Khaleda's two ailing sons - Tarique Rahman and Koko - to go abroad for better treatment.
Delwar submitted that before taking decision in this regard the court could call for records of the government-constituted medical board for Khaleda'a ailing sons for ends of justice.
Referring to the court orders in the case of detained Awami League president and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has been exempted from personal attendance during her trial, Delwar told the court that "justice should be equally done for all".
Opposing Khondoker Delwar, Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) public prosecutor Golam Hafiz told the court that they did not receive any such petition under section 540A(1) from the defence.
The court resumed at 11:20am after Khaleda Zia was produced before it, followed by her younger son Arafat Rahmat Koko, amid an unusually tight security in and around the parliament-building complex.
Earlier, the other detained accused, including six ex-ministers, were produced in the court. They are former LGRD minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, former health minister Khondoker Mosharraf Hossain, former land minister M Shamsul Islam, former agriculture minister MK Anwar, former state minister for energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain and former industries minister Motiur Rahman Nizami of Jamaat-e-Islami.
Khaleda Zia'a son, Arafat Rahman Koko, was brought onto the court premises from a hospital prison cell by an ambulance. Later he was pushed in courtroom in a wheelchair along with a stand-by oxygen cylinder beside him followed by a physician.
Of the 24 accused, 17 were produced before the court and the remaining 7 are on the run, including former finance minister M Saifur Rahman and former commerce minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, who live abroad.
On May 13, the anti-corruption watchdog ACC, after investigations, submitted charge sheet to the court in the GATCO case.
The ACC filed the case with the Tejgaon Police Station on September 2 last year against Khaleda and her son and others for graft in awarding GATCO the contract for container handling at depots in Dhaka and Chittagong.
The following day, joint forces arrested Khaleda Zia and her son Koko from their Dhaka Cantonment residence, as a purge has been underway in the interim period.
The accused persons are charged with causing a loss of over Tk 140 million to the public exchequer by striking the container-handling deal with GATCO despite the firm's "lack of experience and skills".
Misuse of power and collusion among the accused in violating the tender conditions are among the charges brought under the case.