DHAKA: A Dhaka court yesterday declared the eldest son and heir apparent of former Premier Khaleda Zia too ill to appear in court, his lawyer said.
The decision came after Tareque Rahman, who is being tried for taking kickbacks to suppress a murder case, accused the government of torture him in custody. The special anti-graft court ordered his exemption after it became “satisfied that Tareque is unfit to attend the court,” his lawyer Rafiqul Islam Mia said.
“The court has recognized that he is sick and needed appropriate treatment. Doctors have already examined him and suggested that Tareque be treated abroad, preferably in Germany. Otherwise he could be crippled permanently,” he said. “He will be represented by his laywers during the trial,” he added.
Government lawyer Shamim Ahsan said he had visited Rahman and found him to be sick.
Rahman, who is the joint secretary of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Khaleda Zia, has been detained since March last year on graft charges after the government launched a nationwide anti-corruption crackdown.
Although he did not have a ministerial role in his mother’s government, the 42-year-old was frequently referred to as the most powerful man in Bangladesh during Khaleda’s second tenure as prime minister between 2001 and 2006. Mia told an anti-graft court late last month that Rahman had been energetic and fit before he was arrested, but was now unable to appear in court because of “severe physical problems.” He told AFP Sunday that they hoped exemption would eventually lead to Rahman’s release, so that he could be sent abroad for proper treatment.
The country’s army-backed government last week exempted Khaleda’s youngest son from appearing in court after he was declared ill with acute asthma and lung problems.
The exemptions come as the army-backed government, which has been in power since a state of emergency was declared in January 2007, is trying to restore democracy by holding elections at the end of the year.
The country’s main political parties — the BNP and the Awami League — had refused to take part in elections while their respective leaders and their families were detained.
In a deal struck earlier this month, the emergency government freed Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina Wajed and allowed her to travel to the United States for medical treatment.
— With input from agencies
