The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

A Court in Dhaka city yesterday indicted detained former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a Tk 3 crore extortion case.

Her younger sister Sheikh Rehana, now residing in London, and cousin and former Minister Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim are the co-accused in the case filed by Azam J Chowdhury, Managing Director of East Coast Trading Pvt. Ltd., alleging that she had forced him to pay Tk 3 crore extortion money for a contract to set up an electricity plant.

The charge was framed against Sheikh Rehana in absentia.

As Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions judge M Azizul Haque read out the charges framed against them in the Court, both Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Selim, who were on the dock, pleaded their innocence.

Sheikh Hasina, who is the President of Awami League (AL), in a lengthy statement in the court, claimed that the cases were initiated as she refused a deal allowing military dictatorship to take over and become the President of the country.

Meanwhile, charge-sheet in another graft case against her and 7 other co-accused was filed yesterday in the Court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Dhaka Golam Rabbani.

Framing the charge after dismissal of the defence plea, the Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court fixed January 17 for commencing the trial of Sheikh Hasina and two others through depositions by prosecution witnesses.

The judge in his order said he found “sufficient grounds” for framing charges against the accused.

This is for the first time a former Prime Minister of the country was indicted in an extortion case under Section 384/385 read with section 34 of the Penal Code.

The accused will be sentenced to maximum 14 years imprisonment if the Court found them guilty, a senior lawyer said.

Sheikh Hasina’s counsel Barrister Shafique Ahmed told journalists after the session of the Court that they would move the High Court today to challenge the legality of the trial judge’s order.

Hundreds of Awami League (AL) activists and supporters, were seen standing on two sides of the road leading to the makeshift Court to listen to the decision of the judge.

The authorities put up six-tier security barricade around the Parliament building complex where the court has been set up.

Terming the case as malafide, concocted and conspiratorial to tarnish her image and debar her from contesting next parliamentary elections, Sheikh Hasina said, “I cannot get justice from this Court as I know you (judge) will be in trouble if you do the justice.”

In her emotion-charged 20 minutes statement, the AL President said, “I leave the matter to Almighty Allah and my people.”

“You have nothing to do as message descends on you from a special place,” she told the judge.

She alleged that she was kept in “solitary confinement” in jail and she was not allowed to consult her lawyers and close relatives in violation of human rights.

Sheikh Hasina said, “It’s a camera trial… the Court was not set up in accordance with the Constitution.”

She said the Constitution was undermined in the name of holding speedy trial in a case involving an alleged incident of seven years ago.

“When an occurrence takes place the case has to be initiated at that time under the existing laws of land,” she said, adding the Constitution has been violated by placing the case under the Emergency Powers Rules.

Sheikh Hasina, who ruled the country as Prime Minister for five years from 1996, questioned why cases one after another were being initiated against her?

Explaining the “conspiracy” for which she was implicated in cases on her return from Washington in May last year, she claimed that she was given a proposal for allowing the military dictatorship to step in and take over as the President.

“But I did not accept the deal. And this is my greatest offence to them,” she further claimed, in her speech to convince the Court.

After the refusal of the deal, Sheikh Hasina continued, saying, “She was obstructed to return home from abroad. But as a believer of democracy for which I fought for long, I mobilised world opinion that forced the Government to allow me to enter the country.”

Recounting the past military dictatorship, she said it had hampered the advancement of democracy and “I did not want to see the repeat of the military rule clamped on the nation.”

She said, “Why can’t I return to my country? If I conceded to their proposal, all these cases against me would not have been filed.”

Dismissing outright the extortion allegation, she said she did not even know Azam J Chowdhury who filed the case. “It is not possible to bring bribe money in a brief case to the Ganobhaban (the Prime Minister’s House).”

Referring to contents of the allegation that she would delay the power project if kickback were not given, the former Prime Minister said the power plant was completed quickly to meet the growing demand. “If the bribe was received, the project would not have been completed by the time schedule,” she added.

She also alleged that Sheikh Selim was tortured to extract the confessional statement implicating her and Sheikh Rehana in the case.

Sheikh Hasina said she is the daughter of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. “My father was a Minister in 1954. If I had any lust for wealth, I could enjoy it in those days,” she asserted.

In support of her contention, she said, “Rather, I donated the property inherited from my father to Bangabandhu Memorial Trust for the welfare of the distressed. I don’t have lust for cozy and comfort life.”

Pleading his innocence, Sehikh Selim claimed that he did not receive the said money and sought justice from the Court.

The time stated in the case for alleged exchange of the kickback did not substantiate his bank account operation, he said. “It is a conspiratorial case to belittle us,” he told the Court.

Barrister Shafique Ahmed, Barrister Fazle Noor Tapash, Sahara Khatun, Golam Arif Tipu, Yusuf Hossain Humayun, Toufique Newaz and Qamrul Islam appeared for Sheikh Hasina and Syed Rezaur Rahman for Sheikh Selim.

In the meantime, a CMM Court of Dhaka yesterday admitted the charge sheet against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and seven others in the barge mounted power plant scam case.

Admitting the charge-sheet, ACMM Golam Rabbani transferred the case, filed by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) earlier, to the Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court for trial.

Other accused in the case are former Secretary Toufiq-e-Elahi, former PDB chairman Nooruddin Mohammad Kamal, Summit Industries & Mercantile chairman Mohammad Aziz Khan, directors Mohammad Farid Khan and Hasan Mahmud, Raja United Group chairman Abul Kalam Azad, director Siddiqur Rahman. They all remained fugitive.

The investigating officer named 56 prosecution witnesses in the case.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Hasina’s co-accused former State Minister Prof Rafiqul Islam was today shown arrested in another corruption case-Niko scam case -upon a petition by the investigating officer to the court of additional chief metropolitan magistrate Golam Rabbani.