South Asia News

May 17, 2009, 13:10 GMT

Bangladesh premier cleared of extortion charge

Dhaka - A Bangladeshi court on Sunday cleared Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed of an extortion charge brought against by a businessman two years ago, court officials said. A judge of the special court, set up during the previous military- backed government of Fakhruddin Ahmed to provide speedy trials for graft cases, mostly against politicians, ordered the charges against Hasina withdrawn. The move is in line with an appeal submitted by a public prosecutor. Abdullah Abu, the prosecutor, filed the petition seeking withdrawal of the extortion case filed by businessman Ajzm J Chowdhury in 2007. The case alleged that Hasina extorted money from Chowdhury during her 1996-2001 regime in exchange for awarding a contact for a power plant near Dhaka. After the political changeover in early 2009, the businessman said that filing the charges had resulted from a misunderstanding and that he would not press the case in court. The public prosecutor also sought to submit a petition seeking to quash 11 other graft charges against the premier, saying the charges brought against Hasina had been politically motivated. Hasina was among the top politicians who were detained by the military-backed government of Fakhruddin Ahmed, who assumed office in early 2007 in the wake of political turmoil.

And Also

Look Back at the Worst Celebrity Breakups

Look Back at the Worst Celebrity Breakups - PopEater
Michael Jackson's death tops Yahoo search in 2009 - The Tech Herald
Yogi Bear Gets A Ranger Smith - Cinema Blend
About to Pop: Fallbrooke - PopEater
A&E series 'Hoarders' and 'Intervention' premiere Monday, Nov. 30th, preview

Your Talkback on this Story

Similar articles

Bangladesh on highest security alert amid Majibur trail
Bangladesh to be beat poverty by 2020, pledges prime minister
Bangladesh provides lifelong protection to slain founder's family
Bangladesh scales up security ahead of Mujibur Rahman anniversary
Bangladeshi premier expands her cabinet

Latest Headlines in South Asia

Older Talkback

South Asia: Index

: News; Features

Latest Pics

Michael Stuhlbarg

Shohreh Aghdashloo

From Sites we Like

Italian police turn their £150,000 Lamborghini Gallardo into a jump ramp for mini cars. (pics) [Fail]
If an Amtrak train leaving Boston with 48 passengers going 60 miles per hour is due to arrive in Portland at 9:25 p.m., how many whiplash lawsuits will occur when it hits the abandoned car on the tracks at 5:42 p.m.? [Obvious]

More Not News from Fark

In Monsters and Critics

: Arts; Books; DVD; Gaming; Lifestyle; Movies; Music; News; People; Science & Nature; Sport; TV; Archives
Other Languages and Sites: Deutschland (Monsters and Critics); The Tech Herald; Free Games

Entertainment: Arts; Books; DVD; Gaming; Movies; Music; People; Soundtracks; TV
Media: Celebrity Photos; Movie Pictures; Movie Trailers; Movie Posters; Theatre Stills; Celebrity Video; Music Video
Released this week: Movies - USA; Movies - UK; DVD - USA
Distractions: Online Games; Daily Crossword; Sudoku Classic; Daily Jigsaw

World News: US; UK; Americas; Europe; Middle East; Asia Pacific; South Asia; Africa; Business; Education; Health
Science and Tech: Science and Nature; Technology
Lifestyle: Autos; Fashion; Life; Travel

Corporate

: About; Advertise; Contact; The Team; Vacancies; Privacy; RSS; Site Map; Terms; Webmasters

The Fine Print

© 2003 - 2009 by Monsters and Critics.com, WotR Ltd. All Rights Reserved. All photos are copyright their respective owners and are used under license or with permission. * Note M&C cannot be held responsible for the content on other Web Sites.

Servers supplied by Servint