By Mainul Islam Khan
DHAKA, Bangladesh
A court issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for a former two-time Bangladeshi Prime Minister in connection with two corruption cases.
The court in the Dhaka issued the arrest warrant after the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Khaleda Zia failed to show up in court.
She is accused of embezzling money from two charity organizations: Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust.
Her lawyer, Sanaullah Mia, told reporters that Zia could not come to the court, citing security reasons and that he had submitted a petition for more time. The court apparently rejected the plea and issued the arrest warrant.
Bangladesh is currently undergoing a rolling transport blockade across the country with scattered general strikes called for by the opposition alliance led by Khaleda Zia.
The movement has been active since Jan. 5 when Khaleda Zia was confined in her office in capital Dhaka.
Police, supported by water cannons, were stationed outside her office building, preventing her from joining political rallies to mark the anniversary of the controversial general elections in 2014.
During this continuous blockade, which has lasted more than 50 days, at least 100 people have been killed in various confrontations and attacks, which include petrol bomb arson on passenger vehicles.
Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission first filed a graft case against Khaleda Zia in 2008 -- as well as against five other people, including her eldest son, Tarique Rahman -- for allegedly misusing funds from the Zia Orphanage Trust.
Three years later, in 2011, the graft watchdog accused the party leader and three others of embezzling funds, this time from Zia Charitable Trust.
