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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Bangladeshi court charges ex-PM | Bangladeshi court charges ex-PM |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| A Bangladeshi court has formally charged former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with extortion. | A Bangladeshi court has formally charged former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina with extortion. |
| Her trial is scheduled for 17 January, and a verdict will be reached within 60 days, court officials in the capital, Dhaka, have said. | Her trial is scheduled for 17 January, and a verdict will be reached within 60 days, court officials in the capital, Dhaka, have said. |
| If found guilty, Sheikh Hasina will be eligible to appeal to a higher court. | |
| Sheikh Hasina and members of her family deny receiving payments of about $440,000 (£220,000) from a businessman while in power from 1996 to 2001. | Sheikh Hasina and members of her family deny receiving payments of about $440,000 (£220,000) from a businessman while in power from 1996 to 2001. |
| The former PM faces a second charge of extortion which is due to be heard in court soon. | The former PM faces a second charge of extortion which is due to be heard in court soon. |
| Also charged were Sheik Hasina's cousin and former minister, Sheikh Selim, and Sheikh Hasina's only sister, Sheikh Rehana, who lives abroad and will be tried in absentia. | |
| Dirty politics | Dirty politics |
| Sheikh Hasina is one of dozens of leading politicians and businessmen arrested since an army-backed caretaker government took over in January 2007. | Sheikh Hasina is one of dozens of leading politicians and businessmen arrested since an army-backed caretaker government took over in January 2007. |
| It has promised to clean up Bangladesh's dirty politics so that free elections can be held before the end of 2008. | It has promised to clean up Bangladesh's dirty politics so that free elections can be held before the end of 2008. |
| She has been in custody since July - held in a special prison on the parliament's grounds in Dhaka where her fellow prisoner is another former Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia. | She has been in custody since July - held in a special prison on the parliament's grounds in Dhaka where her fellow prisoner is another former Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia. |
| Khaleda Zia also denies taking bribes while in office. | |
| Supporters of the two politicians, who are bitter rivals, accuse the interim government of using its anti-corruption drive to try prevent the country's most popular leaders from standing for office again. | Supporters of the two politicians, who are bitter rivals, accuse the interim government of using its anti-corruption drive to try prevent the country's most popular leaders from standing for office again. |