Bangladesh emergency Govt frees ex-PM
BANGLADESH: Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed was
released from detention on corruption charges Wednesday as part of an
apparent political deal between her party and the army-backed
government.
The leader of the Awami League party, who has been held on graft
charges for almost a year, is to leave the country early Thursday for
the United States, where she will be treated for hearing problems,
officials said.
"She has just been released from a special prison and she is heading
to her home," additional deputy police commissioner Ruhul Amin told AFP.
Sheikh Hasina left her jail in a heavily-guarded SUV, and was greeted by
thousands of supporters gathered outside.
Many tossed flowers onto the vehicle, forcing the motorcade to slow
to a crawl as it made its way through the crowds, an AFP reporter on the
scene said.
In a surprise move Monday, Bangladesh's emergency army-backed
government gave permission for Sheikh Hasina, who led the country from
1996 to 2001, to be released. But it is leaving the graft charges in
place, and Sheikh Hasina is to be tried in absentia.
The government is trying to end a stalemate with the two main
political parties, the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party
(BNP). Dhaka, Wednesday, AFP
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