Entries from November 2007 ↓

The trial of Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her family members accused of extortion will be held in the parliament complex where she is jailed, authorities here have decided on grounds of security.

The law ministry on Tuesday issued a gazette notification under which the Dhaka metropolitan magistrate has been asked to conduct the proceedings in the Jatiya Sangsad Bhavan, or parliament complex.

Five public prosecutors have also been appointed under this notification to conduct the trial - on the charge that Hasina, her Britain-based sister Rehana and cousin and political associate Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim extorted Taka 29 million ($490,000 approx) from a businessman in return for clearing his proposal.

While Hasina has been lodged in the special jail since July 16, Selim has been detained and Rehana, summoned by the court on Nov 11, has not complied yet.

The family has denied the charge.

Azam J. Chowdhury, managing director of Eastcoast Trading Pvt Ltd, filed the case against Hasina and Selim, accusing them of extortion.

The Awami League chief earned a brief reprieve in another case from the Supreme Court that Tuesday rejected the appeal by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the government against a high court ruling that said the notice issued to Hasina to declare her wealth was illegal.

Both Hasina and her political rival, former prime minister Khaleda Zia, have won appeals after the court ruled that the ACC’s procedure for summoning wealth declaration statements was illegal.

The ACC, which has been spearheading the anti-corruption drive of the government, has used identical procedure for 200-plus high profile persons accused of concealing wealth and dodging tax payments.

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070034210&ch=11/28/2007%2012:55:00%20PM

The trial of Tk 2.99 crore extortion case against Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana and their cousin Sheikh Selim will start on December 3 at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban complex on security grounds.

Judge Mohammad Azizul Haque at Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court set the date yesterday and asked the jail authorities to produce Hasina and Selim, both behind bars, on the scheduled date.

Rehana, who earlier flouted the court’s surrender order, will be tried in absentia.

Hasina and Selim, however, were not produced at yesterday’s proceedings even though the court had directed the jail authorities to that end.

Defence lawyers yesterday submitted a petition to the trial court, seeking adjournment of the trial proceedings until a ruling that is pending with the High Court regarding Hasina’s bail is disposed of.

Moving the petition, the defence argued that they had earlier submitted a writ petition to the High Court challenging the legality of the case following which the HC granted ad interim bail to Hasina and also issued a ruling upon the government.

But the Supreme Court stayed the HC order following a government appeal and directed the High Court to dispose of the matter, the defence said adding that the matter was now on the High Court’s cause list.

Opposing the defence lawyers, the prosecution said there is no bar to proceeding with the case because the Supreme Court had earlier stayed the High Court order.

Sources said the government on Monday decided to hold the trial of the high-profile case at the Sangsad Bhaban complex instead of at Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court to avoid any untoward incidents.

Under section 9(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the law ministry issued gazette notification of the case and appointed five public prosecutors to move on behalf of the state.

Acting Law Secretary Kazi Habibul Awal on Tuesday sent the notification to the Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court.

Azam J Chowdhury, managing director of Eastcoast Trading Pvt Ltd, filed the case against Hasina and Selim with Gulshan Police Station on June 13, accusing them of extorting Tk 2.99 crore from him.

The investigation officer of the case later included Rehana’s name in the charge sheet after an investigation.

On November 11, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court summoned Rehana, who lives in the UK, to turn herself in before the court by November 18 and directed the authorities concerned to publish the summons in two Bangla national dailies.

Rehana, however, did not comply with the court order. The case was later transferred to the Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court for trial.

The court on October 24 accepted the charge sheet of the case, issued warrant for Rehana’s arrest and ordered to attach her property.

The investigation officer submitted the charge sheet to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court of Dhaka on July 24, showing 24 people as prosecution witnesses.

Law enforcement agencies arrested Hasina in connection with the case on July 16 and produced her before a magistrate court, which sent her to jail.

Two more extortion cases and a graft case were filed against the former prime minister with Tejgaon Police Station on April 9, June 13 and September 2.

http://www.bangladeshnews.com.bd/2007/11/29/trial-of-hasina-rehana-begins-on-dec-3/

Former prime minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina yesterday filed a writ petition with the High Court (HC) challenging the legality of bringing a Tk 3 crore graft case filed against her and six prominent personalities under the Emergency Power Rules (EPR).
The Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case on September 2.

A HC division bench in a day or two is likely to hear the petition in which Sheikh Hasina prayed for staying the proceedings of the case.

This is the fifth case filed against the AL President, now detained in a sub-jail on the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban premises.

http://www.albd.org/autoalbd/content/view/248/1/

Bangla HC declares ACC notice on Hasina illegal
Thursday, November 22, 2007 07:37 [IST]
Dhaka: The High Court has declared illegal an Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ACC) notice demanding the wealth statement of detained former prime minister and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina.

A High Court bench comprising judges Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman and Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury delivered the verdict after hearing a writ petition filed by the ex-premier, challenging the commission s notification issued on July 17.

In the verdict, the court observed that the commission did not follow due process of law in notifying Sheikh Hasina, reports said here today. According to the law, the commission, after conducting preliminary inquiries, has to be sanguine that a person is possessing wealth beyond his/her known sources of income before asking the person concerned to submit wealth report, the court pointed out adding that no such inquiry was conducted before notifying Hasina.

Officials of the anti-graft body, however, said they might appeal against the High Court verdict. “We still have the scope to appeal against the verdict and the commission will decide on the issue at its meeting later tomorrow (Thursday),” ACC chairman Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury said yesterday at the commission headquarters.

“It is not a big issue… We are not disheartened with the High Court verdict. It is a legal matter and we will face it in legal process,” he said. ACC issued the notice a day after she was arrested on July 16 by army-led joint forces in connection with an extortion case. An identical notice was also served on her arch rival — now detained ex-premier and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chief Khaleda Zia.

http://news.indiainfo.com/2007/11/22/0711220743_bangla-hasina.html

The government did not carry out proper investigation to bring persons responsible for the August 21, 2004 grenade attack to justice after repeated demands from both national and international quarters and staged a mockery of investigation instead, Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina said yesterday.

“We wanted proper investigation, justice and punishment to the criminals. We wanted an international investigation to stop recurrence of such heinous attacks, but the government has made the investigation a total farce,” Hasina, also the Awami League (AL) president, said in a message on the eve of the second anniversary of the brutal attack.

Referring to the August 21 grenade attack that killed 24 AL leaders and activists and injured 500, the AL president said the government is reluctant to carry out a proper investigation even though there is international pressure on this matter.

Hasina said no attacker was arrested although a large number of law enforcers including members of different intelligence agencies were present at the rally.

After the attack, instead of capturing the attackers and taking the injured to hospitals, the police were busy lobbing teargas shells to allow the attackers flee the crime scene. Also, the government swiftly destroyed the evidence of the attack, said Hasina.

Judges and lawyers were killed last year in bomb attacks again since the government did not investigate, arrest and punish the offenders of the August 21 attack. Training of militants is still on in different parts of the country and the BNP-Jamaat alliance government, especially Jamaat-e-Islami, has a close link with them, alleged the former prime minister.

The AL chief said it seems that there is no government and rule of law in the country. Bangladesh now holds a tarnished image abroad due to human rights violation, extra-judicial killings and for patronising militant outfits. “So people must know who are involved in the series of bomb and grenade attacks”.

Hasina said the people are going through great difficulties due to price hike of essentials and the only way to saving them and the country is by overthrowing the present government.

Hasina urged the countrymen to be united and fortify the ongoing movement for reforms in the caretaker government and the election commission for a free, fair and neutral election.

http://www.bangladeshnews.com.bd/2006/08/21/aug-21-attack-hasina-says-govt-didnt-carry-out-proper-probe/