LOC20:42
17:42 GMT
NEW DELHI, July 16 (KUNA) -- Massive protests were reportedly staged in
Bangladesh after former prime minister and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina
was sent to jail Monday.
Hasina stood before first class magistrate Kamrun Nahar, who rejected her
bail petition after she was charged in an extortion case. She was then taken
to a special sub-jail at a house at capital Dhaka meant for the deputy speaker
of the countrys parliament, news agency Indo-Asian News Service reported.
The former prime minister was charged with allegedly extorting about USD
435 million from a firm called Eastcoast Trading when her Awami League was in
power. The managing director of the firm Azam J Chowdhury had filed a
complaint against her June 13.
Hasina denied the charges and told the court, "I am not an offender, I am
not an extortionist. My family and political ideology taught me to serve
people's cause, not extortion."
She called the cases "false and fabricated" and claimed she had been
arrested without being shown any chargesheet or arrest warrant.
Awami League supporters held massive protest outside the magistrate's court
and elsewhere in Dhaka. Police fired rubber bullets and teargas shells which
injured the protestors, the news agency said. Another demonstration to protest
the arrest was held at the Dhaka University campus.
Reacting to Hasinas arrest India hoped to see a peaceful, stable and
liberal democratic Bangladesh. (pickup previous)
dr.bs
KUNA 162042 Jul 07NNNN