Saturday, February 11, 2012
- Lahore: Shopping centre caught fire in Gulberg
- Australia beat Sri Lanka by 5 runs, remain unbeaten in tri-series
- Blasts, firing near PTIs rally leave 7 injured in Swabi
- Imran says will shoot down drones if comes to power
- 25 killed, 175 injured in Syria blasts
- Aqib Javed resigns as bowling coach
- NATO supplies from Pakistani airspace never stopped: Pentagon
- 11 militants killed, 19 injured in Orakzai operation
- Mansoor Ijaz to record statement via videolink on Feb 22
- LHC adjourns hearing of petition against TCP
Former B'desh PM Hasina indicted in new graft case
DHAKA (AFP) - A Bangladesh court Sunday charged former prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed with taking bribes, as part of a corruption crackdown by the army-backed emergency government, a state prosecutor said.
The judge who indicted the 60-year-old ex-premier said there was sufficient evidence for the prosecution to go ahead, said state lawyer Shamim Ahsan.
"She is charged with taking 30 million taka ($437,000) in bribes from a power company in exchange for awarding it a state contract. She is also charged with abusing her power to deny the contract to the rightful bidder," said Ahsan.Sheikh Hasina, who has already been indicted in another graft case, faces up to 10 years in jail if found guilty of the charges, he said. She would also be automatically barred from contesting the next polls scheduled for December.
The former premier, who is leader of the Awami League party, spoke for nearly an hour in her own defence, saying the case was a attempt to force her out of politics, according to the state prosecutor.
Sheikh Hasina, who was prime minister from 1996 to 2001, has also been accused in at least five more cases involving graft and murder.Her indictment came as two former influential ministers were detained over graft charges, court clerk Abu Al Hossain said.
Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and Shamsul Islam Khan, senior ministers in former prime minister Khaleda Zia's 2001-2006 cabinet, and 14 others were accused last week of illegally awarding a container contract to a local company in 2003.
Bangladesh has been under emergency rule since January 11, 2007, when elections were cancelled after months of violence over claims of vote-rigging.
A army-backed government took power the next day and launched a massive crackdown on corruption a month later, pledging to clean up the country's politics before reinstating democracy through fresh elections in December 2008.
More than 150 top politicians including Sheikh Hasina and her bitter rival Zia have been detained as part of the crackdown.
More than a dozen former ministers, lawmakers and their family members have already been sentenced to between five and 20 years in jail by the fast-track anti-graft courts set up by the government.
The judge who indicted the 60-year-old ex-premier said there was sufficient evidence for the prosecution to go ahead, said state lawyer Shamim Ahsan.
"She is charged with taking 30 million taka ($437,000) in bribes from a power company in exchange for awarding it a state contract. She is also charged with abusing her power to deny the contract to the rightful bidder," said Ahsan.Sheikh Hasina, who has already been indicted in another graft case, faces up to 10 years in jail if found guilty of the charges, he said. She would also be automatically barred from contesting the next polls scheduled for December.
The former premier, who is leader of the Awami League party, spoke for nearly an hour in her own defence, saying the case was a attempt to force her out of politics, according to the state prosecutor.
Sheikh Hasina, who was prime minister from 1996 to 2001, has also been accused in at least five more cases involving graft and murder.Her indictment came as two former influential ministers were detained over graft charges, court clerk Abu Al Hossain said.
Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and Shamsul Islam Khan, senior ministers in former prime minister Khaleda Zia's 2001-2006 cabinet, and 14 others were accused last week of illegally awarding a container contract to a local company in 2003.
Bangladesh has been under emergency rule since January 11, 2007, when elections were cancelled after months of violence over claims of vote-rigging.
A army-backed government took power the next day and launched a massive crackdown on corruption a month later, pledging to clean up the country's politics before reinstating democracy through fresh elections in December 2008.
More than 150 top politicians including Sheikh Hasina and her bitter rival Zia have been detained as part of the crackdown.
More than a dozen former ministers, lawmakers and their family members have already been sentenced to between five and 20 years in jail by the fast-track anti-graft courts set up by the government.
This news was published in print paper. Access complete paper of this day.
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