| I think we might have guessed this was coming... |
A Bangladesh court on Thursday ruled that detained former prime minister Sheikh Hasina stand trial on charges of kickbacks amounting to $100 million in the purchase of military planes from Russia eight years ago. The case against Hasina was originally filed by the government of immediate past prime minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, but has since been revived by the country’s army-backed interim administration as part of a campaign against graft. “The charges against Hasina will now proceed for trial as the High Court has rejected her petition,” a court registrar said, referring to a petition filed by the former prime minister seeking to quash the charges.
Hasina, chief of the Awami League, has been accused of conniving with six officials, including the then chief of the air force, to misappropriate $100 million in the purchase of eight Mig-29 fighter planes. Hasina, who served as premier from 1996 to 2001, has been under detention since July on a separate case relating to charges of extorting more than $1 million from two businessmen. She has denied both the charges.