September 17, 2008	Wednesday	Ramazan 16, 1429

DHAKA, Sept 16: A Bangladesh court granted bail to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in an extortion case on Tuesday, setting the stage for her return from the United States next month ahead of elections later in the year.

Hasina, who was paroled in June and allowed to go abroad for medical treatment, is still facing charges of graft in three other cases.

“The prosecution has also been suspended until October 19,” Hasina’s lawyer Shafique Ahmed told reporters about the case in which Hasina and a former minister were indicted for extorting some 30 million taka from a businessman.

They were arrested last year after the army-backed interim government headed by former central bank governor Fakhruddin Ahmed took charge in January 2007 following deadly political violence.

Last week, Hasina’s arch rival former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia was released on bail after a year in detention on corruption charges. Both are expected to take part in the elections planned for December.—Reuters