Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed went on trial for corruption on Wednesday, facing accusations that she extorted 435,000 dollars from a power company owner, officials said.Sheikh Hasina, leader of the Awami League party, stood in the dock of a special fast-track court alongside her cousin and co-accused, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, prosecutor Mohammad Borhanuddin said. The trial opened with power company owner Azam J Chowdhury telling the court that he gave 30 million taka (435,000 dollars) to Sheikh Hasina’s cousin in 2000, the prosecutor said. “He told the court he was threatened by Selim that if he failed to pay the money, the prime minister would disrupt his power project,” Borhanuddin said.
“He said that Selim had told him that part of the money would be given to the prime minister. He said after he handed over the money to Selim, he was never disturbed again,” the prosecutor added. Sheikh Hasina, 60, has denied the charges, accusing the army-backed emergency government of trying to destroy her political career. Her lawyer, Kamrul Islam, said the power company owner “could only identify Selim as the accused,” and not the former PM.
Wearing a sari, Hasina smiled regularly during the two hours she stood in the dock, a witness said. The room was packed with dozens of defence lawyers, journalists and security official, lawyers said.