January 31, 2008	Thursday	Muharram 21, 1429

DHAKA, Jan 30: Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed went on trial for corruption on Wednesday, facing accusations that she extorted $435,000 from a power company owner, officials said.

Sheikh Hasina, leader of the Awami League party, stood in the dock of a special fast-track court alongside her cousin and co-accused, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, prosecutor Mohammad Borhanuddin said.

The former premier, who led the country from 1996 to 2001, is one of around 150 high-profile figures arrested as part of a corruption crackdown by Bangladesh’s emergency government, which took office in January, 2007.

The trial opened with power company owner Azam J. Chaudhry, the plaintiff in the case, telling the court that he gave $435,000 to Sheikh Hasina’s cousin in 2000, the prosecutor said.

“He told the court he was threatened by Selim that if he failed to pay the money, the prime minister would disrupt his power project,” Borhanuddin said.

“He said that Selim had told him that part of the money would be given to the prime minister. He said after he handed over the money to Selim, he was never disturbed again,” the prosecutor added.—AFP