DHAKA, 4 July 2007 — A special tribunal in Bangladesh’s capital convicted a businessman close to the family of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia of possessing an illegal weapon and sentenced him yesterday to 10 years in jail, a lawyer said.
Giasuddin Al Mamun was found guilty of illegal possession of a revolver and several bullets, Dhaka Metropolitan Special Tribunal Judge Abul Bashar said in his verdict. Mamun’s lawyer, Mohammad Shajahan, said his client was innocent and would appeal the verdict.
The judge said Mamun received the minimum punishment because he had not used the weapon for any criminal purposes. The maximum punishment in such a case is life in prison, he said.
Mamun, who owns a television station and a river transport company, is a close friend of Tareque Rahman, Khaleda’s elder son.
Tareque, a leader of Khaleda’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was sentenced on June 7 to three years in prison for failing to submit a statement explaining how he had amassed wealth that did not match his legally declared income. Mamun and Tareque were named as co-accused in a case involving the alleged extortion of 10 million taka ($145,000) from a businessman.
Among those detained, six people including two former ministers of Khaleda’s Cabinet and one of her political secretaries have been sentenced for different terms of imprisonment for involvement in corruption and misuse of power.
Several others were being prosecuted in different courts across the country.
Mamun is one of 170 high-profile corruption suspects, including politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen, who have been arrested by the interim government.
They face charges including amassing wealth through corruption and abuse of power, and concealing information about assets. The politicians mainly belong to the country’s two main political parties, one led by Khaleda and another by her archrival, Hasina Wajed, also a former prime minister.
Bangladesh has been ruled since mid-January by an interim government installed by the military after 30 people were killed in clashes following the end of Khaleda’s term. National elections planned for Jan. 22 were canceled.
The interim government, led by a former central bank governor, has vowed to fight corruption, reform electoral rules and clean up the nation’s factional and often violent politics before holding the next elections.
No new election date has been announced, but the government says the polls will be held before the end of 2008.
Bangladesh has been ranked as one of the world’s most corrupt countries by the Berlin-based anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International.
Reformists Prepare to Oust Khaleda
Reformists in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by Secretary-General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan have stepped up efforts to remove Khaleda from her post as the party chief. They are making preparations to hold a party meeting wherein they intend to get reform proposals approved aimed at ousting Khaleda from the party.
“There is no need to wait for the government to lift the ban on indoor politics as a council meeting does not violate the ban put by the government,” member of advisory council Z.A. Khan told reporters here yesterday.
Khaleda has warned Bhuiyan of disciplinary action if he continued to act in violation of the party constitution. She issued the warning against Bhuiyan while participating in a teleconference with Bangladeshi journalists in New York.
“Disciplinary actions would be taken against Bhuiyan if he acts contrary to the party constitution,” she said. The BNP chief urged party leaders and activists to remain vigilant against the conspirators who are trying to break the party.
