DHAKA, 6 May 2007 — Former Bangladesh Premier Hasina Wajed is seeking a million pounds in damages from British Airways for not letting her board a plane home.
Hasina’s lawyers served a legal notice on British Airways on Friday after the airline refused to let her board the April 23 flight to Dhaka, her secretary said.
“BA did not give her a boarding pass, citing security reasons. It caused her immense mental stress and agony,” Abdus Sobhan Golap said from London.
“We are seeking a million pounds ($2 million) in damages,” he said, adding that BA has two weeks to reply to the notice.
There was no immediate comment available from British Airways.
The Bangladesh government blocked Hasina’s return from London on April 18, saying she was a national security threat.
Last Wednesday, the government said it was lifting restrictions on her return, backtracking on plans to exile her and her bitter rival Khaleda Zia amid local and international pressure. Hasina, who heads the opposition Awami League, now plans to leave London for Dhaka on Sunday night aboard a flight run by Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad Airways, according to a party official in Dhaka.
Hasina was slated to arrive in the capital Dhaka at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow, party general secretary Abdul Jalil said.
“The Awami League working committee members will be at the airport to receive her. We hope the government will not arrest her,” he said Saturday.
Hasina served as prime minister between 1996-2001, and is facing charges of murder and extortion.
Police suspended a warrant for her arrest pending further investigation into murder charges laid against her in connection with the battering to death of four people in political unrest last year.
But they said she could still be arrested over an extortion case filed by the Bangladeshi head of a Malaysian company. Bangladesh has been ruled by a military-backed government since January when the country’s president declared a state of emergency and canceled elections slated for Jan. 22. The new government launched a nationwide crackdown on graft, arresting more than 50 top politicians of the two main parties led by Hasina and her rival, Khaleda Zia. Authorities tried to force Khaleda and Hasina into exile as part of a crackdown on political corruption, accusing both of years of misrule.
The government has vowed to clean up politics and carry out sweeping electoral reforms before setting a new date for elections. Last month, the head of the government pledged polls would be held before the end of 2008.
Ahead of Hasina’s return, the security forces late Friday arrested one of her secretaries and a leading Awami League figure, Jalil said.The president of youth wing of the party, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, said the arrests were aimed at seeking to thwart a huge gathering at the airport to receive Hasina.
In the last couple of days police have raided the residences of Awami League officials and already many have gone into hiding, fearing arrests, Nanak said.
“They want to stop officials from organizing any gathering at the airport. In fact we are not doing anything. But still we think tens and thousands will be at airport to see a glimpse of their leader,” he said.
Eight Dead in Fight Over Girls
Meanwhile, at least eight people died after jumping off a cruiser to flee security guards who were seeking to break up a brawl, police said yesterday.
The trouble began late Friday when drunken passengers got into a fight over women as the boat drew near the main port in the capital Dhaka.
When the vessel reached harbor, baton-wielding security guards boarded.
As about 100 people scrambled over the sides toward other boats to flee the guards some of them fell into the water and drowned.
“So far, eight bodies have been recovered. Three to four people are still missing,” Dhaka district police Ibrahim Fatemi said.
Grieving friends at Dhaka’s Sadarghat River terminal told reporters the picnickers were initially attacked by a group of unidentified people who had come ashore on a ferry.
