By Xinhua
Dhaka : A special court in Bangladesh Sunday formally framed charges against former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in an extortion case and fixed Jan 17 for commencement of the trial.
Hasina, who ruled the country from 1996 to 2001 as prime minister, Sunday standing in the dock pleaded not guilty.
“I am innocent,” she told the makeshift court set up in the high-security parliament building complex.
Hasina termed the case mala fide and concocted to tarnish her image and debar her from contesting the parliamentary elections scheduled to be held by December this year.
Managing Director of the East Coast Trading Pvt. Ltd, a local energy company, Azam J Chowdhury filed the extortion case of 29.6 million taka (about $442,000) against Hasina June 13 last year.
Hasina was arrested July 16 last year in connection with the case during an anticorruption crackdown on politicians by the caretaker government of Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed.
Immediate past prime minister Khaleda Zia was also arrested Sep 3 last year in connection with another corruption case.
The caretaker government launched war on corrupt politicians, businessmen and bureaucrats to cleanse domestic politics. Around 200 high profile former ministers and lawmakers were arrested during the current anti-corruption drive.