DHAKA, 8 June 2007 — A special anti-corruption court in Bangladesh sentenced the owner of a television channel to three years in prison yesterday for failing to submit a statement of wealth detailing the source of his funds, a court official said.
Giasuddin Al-Mamun, managing director of “Channel 1” television, was a close associate of Tareque Rahman, the elder son of most recent Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who is also under detention.
Bangladesh’s army-backed interim administration has launched a crackdown on corruption, detaining more than 170 political figures including several former ministers, in a campaign to cleanse politics ahead of elections next year.
Police said Mamun was arrested in March for possessing illegal firearms, found during a raid on his home in Dhaka’s posh Gulshan area. Later, Mamun and Tareque were named as co-accused in a case involving the alleged extortion of 10 million taka ($145,000) from a businessman.
A court official said the sentence was passed after Mamun failed to comply with the order of the Anti-Corruption Commission to submit a wealth statement.
The interim government, which canceled election scheduled for Jan. 22, has said it plans to complete the campaign against corrupt politicians before elections around the end of 2008.
A court also handed down three years rigorous imprisonment to the editor and publisher of daily Zamin on extortion charges. The court sent to jail Rokonuzzaman Rokon and fined him 10,000 taka. Rokon had demanded 2,00,000 taka from one Murad Patwari and threatened to publish a report against him if he did not pay the money.
Voting Rights for Overseas Workers
The Election Commission has initiated a move to include thousands of Bangladeshi expatriates working in overseas in the electoral roll to give them the right to vote.
