Zia engages foreign lawyer to fight cases

Jailed Bangladesh opposition leader Khaleda Zia has hired a prominent British criminal lawyer to defend her as the former prime minister faced a series of graft and criminal cases.A Dhaka court on February 8 sentenced Zia, 72, to five years’ imprisonment finding her guilty of embezzling foreign funds for an orphanage named after her late husband Ziaur Rahman, during her premiership in 2001-2007 tenure.Last week, she was granted bail in the corruption case but was again arrested for allegedly instigating clandestine arson attacks as a fresh warrant was issued against her in that case.Zia is facing more than a dozen cases of corruption, violence and sedition.“British lawyer Lord Carlile has been appointed to assist and provide consultations to her lawyers’ panel in fighting her cases,” Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary-general Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said yesterday.Alamgir said Carlile, who was earlier hired by two major 1971 war criminals during their trials, accepted the appointment and “from now on he will extend support, provide consultations and necessary legal aid as much as he can” in defending the main opposition BNP chief.Several prominent pro-BNP lawyers including former law minister Moudud Ahmed and former speaker Jamiruddin Sircar and two former attorney generals currently lead Zia’s defence team.Asked if the Bangladeshi lawyers were not good enough to fight her cases, Alamgir said Carlile was appointed to enrich “the defence panel and take the issue to the international arena”.One of the defence lawyers said Carlile would work as adviser to the lawyers’ panel, being one of the most prominent lawyers of Britain and member of the British House of Lords.Carlile had earlier served as the counsels of convicted Mir Quasem Ali and Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, who subsequently were executed for committing crimes against humanity while helping invading Pakistani troops in the 1971 liberation war.As the Supreme Court upheld the verdict against Quasem Ali, Carlile, had also written to the Bangladesh government seeking to halt their executions while he lobbied for creating international pressure for his clients.Zia has appealed in the high court against her five year sentence and a process is underway to hear her arguments, which apparently prompted her to hire the British lawyer.