Police arrest Bangladeshi ex-PM Sheikh Hasina !

[genmirajborgza786]

Police arrest Bangladeshi ex-PM
Police in Bangladesh have arrested former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after a raid on her house in Dhaka.
She was later brought to a court in the capital amid heavy security.

Sheikh Hasina faces corruption charges relating to her time in office from 1996 to 2001. She is also an accused in the killings of four political rivals.

Sheikh Hasina has denied any crime and says the arrest is a "conspiracy to expel her from politics". The arrest sparked angry protests from supporters.

"Neither myself nor my family were ever involved in any sort of corruption," a lawyer quoted Hasina as telling the court.

Her lawyers said the court had turned down their submissions not to detain her, a move which they said was "unlawful and untenable".

"We will come out soon with all the details," one lawyer told reporters.
The military-backed government has barred her from leaving the country.

Sheikh Hasina was arrested after a two-and-a-half hour raid on her house, involving about 1,000 policemen, the BBC's Abdullah Muyid in Dhaka reports.

Police later used batons and rubber bullets to drive away protesters chanting "release Hasina, release Hasina". At least eight protesters were injured, witnesses say.

Protests also broke out at Tungipara, Sheikh Hasina's ancestral home in the south-west, and in other places across the country, reports say.

Khaleda Zia case

The head of Bangladesh's military-backed caretaker government, Fakhruddin Ahmed, said after the arrest that no-one in the country was above law.

"Anyone involved in corruption will be tracked down and prosecuted," he said.

Police filed two cases against Sheikh Hasina in June for extorting 80 million taka ($1.16 million) from two businessmen. Monday's arrest was related to one of those cases.


"The court has ordered Sheikh Hasina detained for one month," Begum Motia Chowdhury, a senior leader of her Awami League Party, told Reuters news agency.

The former prime minister's son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, told Reuters from his home in the US that the law enforcement agencies were "going beyond their limits", but that he had "no plan to return to Bangladesh immediately but will try to organise a protest worldwide".

Sheikh Hasina, who leads the Awami League, is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led Bangladesh to independence from Pakistan in 1971.

Her bitter rival, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader, Khaleda Zia, also faces criminal charges and has been ordered to appear before a court by 26 August over tax evasion allegations.

Since January this year, Bangladesh has been governed by a military-backed emergency government, which has promised to root out corruption.

More than 150 prominent politicians, civil servants and businessmen have been arrested.

The government says elections will be held before the end of 2008.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6900177.stm

Published: 2007/07/16 10:34:08 GMT

© BBC MMVII

 

[HK-47]

the case against her,to us,is quite laughable ,but Hasina has been a real pain in the *** for the CTG.part of me is really happy about this as she was responsible for so many violence caused after the BNP govt stepped down.
Domestic violence is expected,but what foreign backlash?dear dear what will the US,UK,EU gonna do?
It is a terribly sad thing that the grandson of the Father of the Nation,of someone who always gave priority to our sovereignty ,will be now be getting other nations involved in our internal affairs.

 

[Bull]

Oh the RAW again.

 

[Always Neutral]

Two powerful women fighting ? Bad for bangladesh. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Regards

 

[HK-47]

^huh?where did the RAW come from?
Sajib Wajed Joy did say he will organise protests worldwidw(his words completely).

 

[genmirajborgza786]

Tense hours
2:00am: Hasina's police protection is withdrawn.

4:40am: Around 40 joint forces vehicles enter through Dhanmondi road 5/A towards Sudha Sadan.


4:42am: Another 20 joint forces vehicles join the previous convoy at the intersection of road 5 and 5/A.


4:45am: The joint forces move towards Sudha Sadan.


4:50am: The forces surround Sudha Sadan.


4:55am: The forces knock on the front door of Sudha Sadan.


5:07am: The forces enter Sudha Sadan.


7:28am: Hasina is brought out of the house and taken into a navy blue police SUV that starts off towards the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's (CMM) Court.


7:50am: Hasina is brought to the CMM Court.


8:20am: Court proceedings start against Hasina.


9:30am to 10:10am: Hasina delivers submission in her defence to the court.


10:15am: Joint forces convoy carrying Hasina leaves CMM Court and heads for the sub-jail.


10:35am: Hasina is taken into the sub-jail at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban complex.

http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/07/17/d7071701085.htm

 

[genmirajborgza786]

She will be freed with full dignity if not found guilty: Law Adviser tells BBC

Staff Reporter
Law Adviser Barrister Mainul Hosein said yesterday that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina faced 13 cases, investigations of which were in progress.

Talking to the BBC Bangla Service on the reason behind her arrest yesterday evening, he said investigation of Taka 3 crore extortion case against Sheikh Hasina has almost been completed.

The complainant mentioned in his case that he paid the money by bank cheques. Another aspect of this case is that Sheikh Selim, a close relative of the former prime minister, in a statement made before a magistrate confirmed the accusations made against Sheikh Hasina.

Sheikh Selim, in his statement, also said that he took the money and handed over the same to Sheikh Hasina.

Responding to a question why Sheikh Hasina was arrested now although the case was filed much earlier, the Law Adviser said, “We have brought the cases under the purview of the emergency rules so that trial of those are completed speedily. We have decided, in principle, to wait till the framing of charge sheets for the arrest of people, specially women.”

The Adviser said there was also another provision of law that chargesheet cannot be submited before arrest Thus, one may see some delay in an arrest But this has been done out of a consideration that she would be arrested only when investigations would lead to circumstances of submission of chargesheet But again, chargesheets cannot be submited before an accused person is arrested.

BBC: But, Sheikh Hasina has complained that she has been arrested so that she cannot contest the next polls.

Barrister Mainul: I will not give answer to such kinds of political questions. Cases have been filed against crimes and trials of those will take place. She will be released with full honour if crimes that she has been charged with are not proved in the court The basic thing to be considered here is whether the cases proceed under the normal process of law and whether she is being subjected to any injustice. Sheikh Hasina has not been arrested on any political consideration, he said.

Responding to another question as to whether former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia will be arrested or not, the Law Adviser said the law will take its own course. The case of Khaleda Zia will not be an exception. Trial of Sheikh Hasina will be held neutrally under the law of the land, the government will not interfere in it in any way.

Meanwhile, when his atention was drawn to an allegation made by some Awami League leaders that Sheikh Hasina was arrested to clear the path for the pro-reform politicians of the party, the Law Adviser told journalists at a press briefing at his ministry that the question was political. It is natural for politicians to speak like this. Our point is, cases have been filed under the ordinary laws. Trial will be held in open courts. “We don’t have high political ambitions. We’re a caretaker government, and will handover power through election. We don’t have political enmity with anybody. The present government is eager to introduce honest politics with a view to creating an environment conducive to the establishment of a democratic government I don’t want to comment on who looted the people’s wealth and property. I’m only talking about policy-principles. It is not tenable that there will be no trial of those who loot and plunder people’s property.”
http://nation.ittefaq.com/new/get.php?d=07/07/17/w/n_vxxx

 

[genmirajborgza786]

Dr Wazed Mia hospitalised


Staff Reporter



Awami League president Sheikh Hasina’s husband and noted nuclear scientist Dr Wazed Mia was admited to LabAid Hospital at Dhanmondi in the city yesterday.

Dr Wazed Mia, a diabetic patient, who has long been suffering from kidney and heart ailments, suddenly became sick after his wife was arrested from their Sudha Sadan residence at Dhanmondi in the morning. During the arrest of Hasina, Dr Wazed Mia was present at Sudha Sadan. His physical conditions deteriorated after Hasina was arrested and taken to the court

Dr Wazed Mia was rushed to LabAid Hospital at about 1:15pm and admited there.

Doctors at LabAid Hospital said Dr Wazed Mia was undergoing treatment under the supervision of Prof Sohrab uz Zaman.
http://nation.ittefaq.com/new/get.php?d=07/07/17/w/n_vxxm

 

[genmirajborgza786]

Country profile: Bangladesh

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/country_profiles/1160598.stm#media

 

[genmirajborgza786]

Politics dangling between
hope and despair

K. Faezul Huq

The nation as a whole seems to be passing through a spell of tension. There is total confusion all around as far as the political parties and their leaders are concerned. Businessmen and traders of all classes are also confused due to the queer policies of the present administration, which has neither given any satisfaction to the consumers nor satisfied the people on the other side of the fence. The present-day policy has, in fact, failed to contain the prices of essentials until now without providing any special relief to any section of the society, except the big, black money holders. And the finance and planning adviser, in his utter spell of wisdom, claimed that the prices of essentials had not soared!
Further, to make things more confusing, every moment, one comes across contradicting statements emitting from different official sources. While the chief government spokesman, Janab Fahim Munaim, who is also the press secretary to the chief adviser, says that the idea of appointing more advisers or their associates for smoothly running the day-to-day affairs of the government is being mulled, the Law Adviser, on the same day, says something different and contradictory. On the political front also, a battle seems to be on with constant tussle between the neo-reformists and those who want the present status quo to continue until the next council session of their respective organisations. Indeed the differences and confusion all over are quite discernible.
A recap of recent events clearly reminds us as to how people from all walks of life sincerely reacted and prayed when Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed�s journey began with tons of hope, after the changeover of 1/11. Ninety-eight per cent people had heaved a sigh of relief when some major changes were announced after the interim government had taken over on the 11th of January 2007. Perhaps at that point they had rightly thought that a group of Messiahs had descended from somewhere in order to put everything in order. Soon, when they witnessed some quick action on different fronts, as the new government took over full charge, their belief in the goodness of transformation was further intensified, and they were convinced that all evils would vanish soon.
In fact, the ACC, as the forerunner of bundles of momentous reforms which were perceived by the present government, started its voyage with a big bang under the able leadership of General Hasan Mashhud Choudhury, who, despite having paucity of workforce and logistics at his disposal, went ahead full-speed without caring for the available deficiencies. People were both surprised and happy to see ACC�s fast-moving actions, when the big fishes were caught without discrimination. But soon the euphoria started dying down, as some �bigwig� politicians and �others� were left out [and are still out!] at whose direction, God alone knows.
There have been judicial flaws and excesses also, conspicuously visible in a few cases which were recently tried. Whether that was done purposely and voluntarily by individuals in charge of dispensing justice or it was done at the behest of the power is not the moot point of consideration. People are just loath to see the popular government backed by our patriotic armed forces, on which they have pinned so much hope, committing any silly mistake(s) like their predecessors and that also due to the overdoing of the civil bureaucracy. For example, a man possessing 15 bottles of spirit/liquor cannot be sentenced to five years in prison�a fact of law and common perception on which lawyers and jurists are almost unanimous, and which even a layman would know.
The sentence, in fact, only increased the number of sympathisers for the convict under reference by a huge number. A maximum sentence of six months would have really sufficed. And if that is a crime, then everyday 1,000 people should be caught drinking and sentenced to various terms for consuming wine and whisky at different clubs, licensed bars and 4- and 5-star hotels. You simply cannot have different set of rules and regulations prevailing in the same society at the same time for different people. Not at least during Dr. Fakhruddin�s incumbency as the head of government. People feel that the government should concentrate on the big-time corrupts and the financial defaulters who have siphoned off millions of takas and have only been convicted for some minor crimes.
While the politicians and their cohorts including businessmen and civil servants are being tried every day, sentenced to various terms and sent to jail with approval all around, the public has reacted sharply to certain scenes where teenage sons and daughters of the accused and the convicts are also being sent to the prison along with their parents in the same vans. Siblings and wives of the alleged corrupt men might have encouraged a person like the forest dacoit Osman Ghani to indulge in corrupt practices, but sons and daughters, who are fully dependent and live under the same roof, cannot be equated on the same plank with those who live and earn independently. It is true that sometimes sons and daughters overtake their parents in the corruption race like in Maya Choudhury�s case or Hasnat Abdullah�s case, but that does not necessarily happen always.
Now coming back to the national political scenario, I was quite stunned to watch Janab Tofail Ahmed�s reaction, in response to Begum Matia Choudhury�s comment on the two ladies. Tofail Ahmed almost put in his own words into Begum Matia�s mouth and uttered many irrelevant and uncouth things himself while giving his reaction to the media. Nobody has ever seen him doing that in the past and it was quite unexpected. Was he trying to paint a �good boy� impression about himself was what some people were asking in the streets the other day. Mannan Bhuiyan, on the other hand, with support from Major General [retd] Z.A. Khan and Major [retd] Hafizuddin Ahmed along with a few others, seems to be doing a good job by keeping the BNP chairperson on her toes.
But a full-fledged council session, notwithstanding all the present flaws and stigma attached to Begum Zia�s name, would still have a different texture and result altogether. The councillors in any case will have to be fully convinced that Begum Zia with all the blame on her shoulders can no longer lead the party properly, and the time has indeed come for a drastic change of leadership. The councillors would certainly question�which the common man in the streets is presently doing�and ask the top leaders from the reformists� group as to why they had kept silent for the last 14/15 years. The same applies to the Awami League, with the only difference that Hasina�s rhetoric and dramatics take her well ahead of Khaleda Zia at all times and give her an edge over her political opponent. Further, Hasina�s son Joy or daughter Putul were never involved in any scam or corrupt deal at any time, except some imaginary ones, and they have always kept themselves aloof from their mother and active politics in the real sense of the term.
Hasina in any case would not have a free, smooth ride in the coming days and weeks, either. What one personally feels is she should have been allowed to go to the USA to be beside her daughter for humanitarian reasons. And, after all, a noisy Hasina would do more harm sitting in Dhaka than in Florida, since the American press would have been least interested in her rhetoric and stale statements, which she is so fond of issuing. The US press would be more interested in Hasina�s right to speak rather than what she actually says. It is as simple as that. In any case, she may eventually give up in due course of time, but not before putting up a good fight; or at least not earlier than Begum Zia or Hussain Mohammed Ershad, both of whom appear to be very tired and run down. Conversely, most of the political developments in the coming days would largely depend upon the new political organisation, which is in the offing, how it would fare and tackle the old guards and their older political organisations. It would be an interesting scenario no doubt to watch them together in the coming days.
http://www.weeklyholiday.net/front.html#01

 

[genmirajborgza786]

No one above law
Says CA, vows to bring corrupt, lawbreakers to justice
Unb, Munshiganj

Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed has categorically said no one is above the law and anybody found corrupt or lawbreaker, whoever he or she may be, will be brought to justice.
Explaining his caretaker government's stand against corruption, the CA said the present government is following two principles in combating corruption.

Firstly, he said the trial of corruption suspects will be held under the law of the land. Secondly, no one is above the law and, under this principle, if allegation of corruption against anyone proves true or anyone violates law, whoever he or she may be, will be brought to justice.

The head of the caretaker government explained his government's stand at an exchange of opinion meeting at Shilpakala Academy auditorium here yesterday morning. People from different professions and government officials attended the meeting organised by the district administration.

The CA urged the people to come forward and extend cooperation to the government in its drive against corruption, saying that it is not possible for the government alone to eliminate corruption from the country.

"Hate corruption and raise your voice against corruption," he said and noted that a handful of people thrives on this vice, while the majority suffers.

He said the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) will take up short, mid-and long-term programme to curb corruption.
Extending support to the election roadmap announced by the chief election commissioner, the chief adviser reaffirmed that the present government is determined to hold the parliamentary elections by December 2008 in a free, fair and neutral manner.
He said the government is carrying out efforts, including institutional and policy reforms, as per aspiration of the people to create a level playing field for elections.
The CA said he is sure that the Election Commission (EC) will be able to hold elections following the path of the roadmap and the government will provide all-out support to the EC to this end.
He noted that the Election Commission is also formulating electoral policy guidelines and other related matters and will consult all sections of people and others concerned for holding a free and fair election to give democracy a strong footing.
With this end in view, honest, dedicated and qualified people will be encouraged to contest the elections.
He said a flawless voter list with photographs is a prerequisite for fair election, which is a longstanding demand of all, and the EC is working for it.
On local government, he said the government is determined to enhance the power of local government and increase its working capability, as establishing good governance is essential.
He informed that a committee has been formed to formulate recommendations in three months and the government will consider the suggestions with importance. The CA called upon people to extend cooperation to the government efforts and goal in upholding democracy.
Fisheries and Livestock Adviser CS Karim, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Munshiganj Mohammad Muniruddin, municipality chairman, union parshad chairmen, female members of union parishads, representatives of the Cold Storage Association, potato farmers, leaders of Munshiganj chamber, local journalists and freedom fighters took part in the exchange of opinion.
The CA asked government officials to discharge their duties honestly and neutrally without yielding to any unwarranted pressure or interference.
He also asked them to engage people in implementing government programme and to take opinion of people, particularly grassroots ones, in planning and thinking and to reflect people's aspiration in their activities.
Responding to local demands raised by the local speakers, he assured that his government would try to meet the demands and carry out development works as far as possible. He informed that he has discussed with ministries concerned and donors the construction of Padma Bridge and hoped it would be materialised.
The CA himself took note of the demands, proposals and problems raised by the locals. Principal Secretary to the Chief Adviser Ali Imam Majumdar and Home Secretary Abdul Karim, who were on the dais, also took note.
http://www.thedailystar.net/2007/07/17/d7071701044.htm

 

[genmirajborgza786]

What the arrest of former PM means
By Sabir Mustafa
BBC Bengali service editor



Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was arrested on Monday and sent off to jail for a month. But this was not just another arrest, triggered by yet another corruption case.
When hundreds of police and elite forces descended on her home in the early hours of Monday, it was the culmination of two months of gradual tightening of the proverbial noose.

Back in May, Sheikh Hasina foiled a government attempt to send her into exile and returned to the country in a blaze of publicity. Thousands of her supporters defied a government ban and cheered her through the streets of Dhaka.

The euphoria was short-lived though, as she was placed under what amounted to house arrest almost immediately after her return.

'No accountability'

Police cordoned off all roads leading to her house in an up-market Dhaka residential area. Only a handful of party leaders and close relatives were allowed to visit her.


SHEIKH HASINA'S BIOGRAPHY
Born on 28 September, 1947
Her father was Bangladesh's first president and independence hero, Mujibur Rahman
During Bangladesh's war of liberation War in 1971, was imprisoned by the Pakistani army
Was abroad in August 1975 when her father, mother and three brothers were all murdered in Dhaka
Elected the president of the Awami League in 1981 while in exile
Put under house arrest several times in Bangladesh during the mid 1980s
Became prime minister after elections of 1996 but lost elections of 2001

When she tried to go to the southern port city of Chittagong last month to visit survivors of a catastrophic landslide, police stopped her from leaving the house.

Likewise, when she tried to travel to the US in late June to see her expectant daughter, the police deployed additional forces and prevented her from going to the airport.

In between all that, a number of extortion cases were registered against her in different police stations. On Monday, Sheikh Hasina was arrested in one of those extortion cases, filed over a month ago.

Earlier, she was charged in a murder case allegedly involving her Awami League party members in the death of four Islamist activists during demonstrations last October. The government is also reviving a number of corruption cases filed against her several years ago.

All the while, Sheikh Hasina has been campaigning for early elections, suggesting that the military-backed caretaker government did not have a mandate to govern for a long time.

The government has promised to hold elections before the end of 2008. But Sheikh Hasina believes that is too long in power for an unelected administration without any accountability.

'Torturing politicians'

She upped the ante in this cat-and-mouse game a week ago. While speaking to journalists, she did what has long been regarded in Bangladesh as the ''undoable'' - she publicly accused the defence intelligence agency, the DGFI, of meddling in politics.

Sheikh Hasina accused the military-run DGFI of ''arresting and torturing politicians'' and engaging in efforts to make or break political parties.

''It is not the DGFI's business to get involved in politics, to make or break political parties. What kind of intelligence activity is it, when the agency tortures people, and administers electric shocks?'' she asked.





To many observers in Dhaka, it was only a matter of time before she was arrested. Her supporters believe there is more politics than law behind her arrest.

''The government has arrested her in order to cut her off from her supporters and party workers. This arrest is politically motivated, which is unfortunate. Nobody in this country can support such an arrest'', Motia Chowdhury, a senior Awami League member told the BBC.

Sheikh Hasina herself believes the various corruption and extortion cases are being lined up to force her out of politics. Once convicted, she would be disqualified from standing in the next general elections.

According to political observers in Dhaka, her fears are not without basis.

The arrest comes at a time when the government is making behind-the-scene attempts to force major political parties to change their top leadership.

It has quietly encouraged a group of senior leaders in the Awami League to float ''reform'' proposals aimed at curbing her powers and easing her out of the leadership.

But the ''reformists'' have made little headway, except in grabbing newspaper headlines.

Awami League rank-and-file members around the country have failed to rally to their cause. While most seem to agree on the need for reforms, few want it done at the expense of Sheikh Hasina.

''There is a feeling in Dhaka that, if Hasina remains at the helm, the reformists would lose the battle,'' the newspaper editor Bazlur Rahman told the BBC.

''The government has been taking a series of steps to neutralise Sheikh Hasina by isolating her,'' he said.

Observers believe that, as long as Sheikh Hasina is able to appeal directly to her party's supporters, the "reformers" have little chance. The need to remove her from the scene, therefore, had become imperative.

War-like situation

The government says her arrest is part and parcel of a general drive against corruption launched by the military-backed interim government since 11 January.

Ministers point to a series of corruption and extortion cases filed against Sheikh Hasina, and suggest that nobody should be above the law.


But senior Awami League leaders feel there was no need to arrest her, as she was already under close police observation. Other political party leaders point to the manner of her arrest as disturbing.

''The way she was arrested, with all those hundreds of police and other forces, did not seem a pleasant sight. It appeared almost as if we are going through a war-like situation. I don't think this will create a positive impression,'' said Rashed Khan Menon, leader of the leftist Workers Party.

The arrest of Sheikh Hasina represents a significant event in Bangladesh. The caretaker government has now delivered a clear signal to the Awami League that it wants to see a wholesale change in the party's leadership before the next general elections.

The big question is: which way will the Awami League - the party which led Bangladesh to independence in 1971 and which celebrates its 60th anniversary next year - go now?

Will it give in to government pressure and accept Sheikh Hasina's ''dismissal'' from politics? Or will it regroup its forces and launch yet another long, violent round of protests?

The people of Bangladesh may not have the desire for any more political agitation. But early indications suggest that protests and agitation are very much on the cards.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6900911.stm

Published: 2007/07/16 13:51:46 GMT

© BBC MMVII

 

[genmirajborgza786]

B'desh democracy fails, army says
Bangladesh's army chief says the country should not go back to being run by an "elective democracy".
He said democracy in Bangladesh had so far led to corruption, rights violations and criminalisation threatening the state's survival.

Dozens of political figures and their associates have been arrested on corruption charges since a state of emergency was declared in January.

The country is currently being run by an army-backed interim government.

'Persistent factor'

"We do not want to go back to an elective democracy where corruption becomes all pervasive, governance suffers in terms of insecurity and violation of rights, and where political criminalisation threatens the very survival and integrity of the state," Lt Gen Moeen U Ahmed told a conference in the capital Dhaka.

He did not elaborate on what kind of a system should be introduced as replacement.

He also blamed the corruption generated by continuous political turmoil as the reason behind Bangladesh's stunted economic growth.

"My contention is that had corruption not been a persistent factor, the full economic potential of Bangladesh could have been realised at a much faster rate."

Abuse of power

National elections had been scheduled to be held in Bangladesh on 22 January.


But these were postponed after weeks of political violence between the parties of former Prime Ministers Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina.

Mrs Zia's tenure ended in October 2006 and the country has been in turmoil since.

Since the postponement of the elections, over 100 high profile political figures have been arrested for corruption and abuse of power.

They includes Tarique Rehman, Mrs. Zia's son, who was widely seen as her 'heir apparent' in the party.

The campaign is being managed by the interim government which is headed by an former central bank chief, Fakhurddin Ahmed, and has the full support of the military.







Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6517887.stm

Published: 2007/04/02 12:18:33 GMT

© BBC MMVII

 

[genmirajborgza786]

Bangladesh ex-PM formally charged


The former Bangladeshi Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, has been formally charged by police with extortion.
The case against her relates to a payment she allegedly received for an electricity contract issued during her period in office eight years ago.

Sheikh Hasina, her sister and her cousin are named in court papers as receiving thousands of dollars.

The former PM, who denies wrongdoing, has been remanded in custody. She faces at least two other extortion cases.

She argues that the charges against her are politically motivated, and have been initiated to block her from standing in future elections.

Sheikh Hasina was arrested last week after a raid on her house in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka.

She was not in court on Tuesday when police filed the charges.

'Rights violated'

The corruption charges relating to her time in office from 1996 to 2001. She has also been accused over the killings of four political rivals.

Meanwhile police say that they have launched an inquiry into the circumstances of her arrest.

Dhaka Additional Police Commissioner Mohammad Moniruzzaman told the AFP news agency that his officers would investigate after the appearance of complaints in the media about the way the arrest was conducted.


Officials from Sheikh Hasina's Awami League party say that police did not show an arrest warrant before searching her home, and that she was taken to court without a summons against her.

Her detention has angered many of her supporters, who have staged protests.

"Her personal rights were violated. Police also seized her bullet-proof Mercedes Benz car. What is the relation between the allegations against her and this? The entire circumstances of the arrest were unlawful," Sheikh Hasina's personal secretary Hasan Mahmud told AFP.

On Monday, six UK politicians called for her release, arguing that she posed no conceivable security risk and should be freed on bail so she could prepare her defence.

Root out corruption

Sheikh Hasina is the daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led Bangladesh to independence from Pakistan in 1971.


Her bitter rival, Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Khaleda Zia, also faces criminal charges and has been ordered to appear before a court by 26 August over tax evasion allegations.

Last week, Ms Zia demanded the immediate release of her rival.

Since January this year, Bangladesh has been governed by a military-backed emergency government, which has promised to root out corruption.

More than 150 prominent politicians, civil servants and businessmen have been arrested.

The government says elections will be held before the end of 2008.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/6913480.stm

Published: 2007/07/24 12:25:07 GMT

© BBC MMVII