DHAKA, 10 November 2007 — The army-backed government in Bangladesh plans to set up four more special courts to try political leaders accused of corruption.
The courts will start working next week for which judges have already been appointed, officials at the Law Ministry said in Dhaka yesterday.
Officials at the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) have indicated that cases involving former prime ministers Khaleda Zia and Hasina Wajed could be tried in the new courts.
A Law Ministry official said special judge of Jamalpur, Tanjina Ismail; judge of Chittagong administrative tribunal, Arifur Rahman; divisional special judge of Barisal, Khandakar Kamaluzzaman; and Public Safety Act tribunal judge in Khulna, Sirajul Islam, have been shifted to the new courts.
The interim government had set up five special courts in May this year to try high-profile cases involving politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen.
Meanwhile, the ACC plans to question eight former ministers and two former secretaries in the GATCO container handling case. The anti-graft watchdog is scrutinizing all documents related to the case. “Several names may come up during investigation but we must scrutinize those legally and carefully,” according to ACC Director General Col. Hanif Iqbal.
