A Bangladesh court hearing graft charges against detained former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina abruptly suspended proceedings
on Monday after heated exchanges between defence and
prosecution lawyers, court officials said.
“The trial will resume on Tuesday and the judge Azizul Haque has asked relevant lawyers to behave properly, otherwise he would be compelled to allow only listed senior lawyers,” one official said. The hearing was
suspended within minutes of resuming the prosecution against Hasina and her cousin, former minister Sheikh Selim, for allegedly taking 30 million taka ($440,000)from a businessman when Hasina was in power between 1996 and 2001.
“The lawyers behaved like party activists and turned the court into a room for heated political exchanges,” said an observer who asked not to be named.
The court is sitting inside Dhaka’s sprawling parliament compound, where Hasina has been held since her arrest in July last year. Hasina and Selim, who both deny the charge, were present in court.
Prosecution and defence lawyers blamed each other for the disturbance.
The court is supposed to deliver a verdict within 60 days of the start of the trial. A conviction would bar Hasina from running in elections expected later this year.
Bangladesh has been under a state of emergency since January last year, when the interim government headed by former central bank chief Fakhruddin Ahmed took power and banned political activity and launched a drive against corruption. More than 170 people have been detained, including former prime ministers Hasina and her rival Begum Khaleda Zia.
Nearly 200 people defied the ban on street rallies to form a human chain and demand the unconditional release of the two former prime ministers at a protest in the port city Chittagong, 300 km (187 miles) southeast of the capital Dhaka, on Monday. The placard-wielding protesters melted away into the crowded streets as police rushed in to break up the human chain, witnesses said. The placards read “Free Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia”. Later, a statement from a hitherto unknown organisation “The City Dwellers”, which said it organised the protest, threatened a bigger movement if the two ex-PMs were not released. Meanwhile, the United States called for an end to the state of emergency and the holding of early elections.
“Our view is the sooner the state of emergency is lifted, the better. The sooner the election is held, the better,” Donald Camp, US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, told reporters at the conclusion of a two-day visit.