Niko Graft Case: Khaleda challenges court order allowing foreigners to testify

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday filed a petition with the High Court, challenging the legality of a lower court order that permitted three foreign witnesses to testify against her and seven others in the Niko graft case.

Khaleda, in the petition, said there is no law in Bangladesh that allows any foreign witness to give statements before a Bangladesh court against its citizens, her lawyer Kayser Kamal told The Daily Star.

A Dhaka court recently granted permission for a former official of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and two members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to testify in the case.

On March 19, the court charged the accused in the case filed with Tejgaon Police Station on December 9, 2007, by the Anti-Corruption Commission for abusing power in signing a deal with the Canadian company Niko for exploring and extracting gas.

The eight other accused are Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, Khandaker Shahidul Islam, CM Eusuf Hossain, Mir Moinul Haque, Gias Uddin Al Mamun, Selim Bhuiyan, and Kashem Sharif.