The trial of the Niko graft case against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and seven others began at a Dhaka court today with the deposition of the complainant.
The government has once more extended the BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's suspended sentences in two corruption cases, allowing her to avoid jail time for a further six months.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case in December 2007, accusing Khaleda and several others of abusing power to award a gas exploration and extraction deal to Canadian company Niko when she was prime minister between 2001 and 2006.
The government is set to extend the suspension of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's jail sentence by six more months, after Law Minister Anisul Huq gave his opinion in this regard.