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Dhaka charges former PM's son with extortion

Bangladeshi authorities filed extortion charges against a former prime minister's son who had been a powerful political leader in a nation that ranks among the world's most corrupt, police said.

Police filed charges with a magistrate's court against Tarique Rahman for allegedly extorting US$147,000 from a construction company, police investigator Mahbub Morshed said on Sunday. Rahman has denied the allegation.

The arrest of Rahman, a senior leader of former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was part of a wide corruption investigation launched by the new government that has also detained dozens of politicians, including former ministers, on corruption charges.

The military-backed interim government has launched an anti-graft drive since Bangladeshi President Iajuddin Ahmed declared a state of emergency on Jan. 11 following weeks of political unrest.

Magistrate A.B.M. Abdul Fatah received the one-page charge against Rahman, Morshed said, adding that he had submitted a list of 12 prosecution witnesses to the court.

A speedy trial court formally recorded the charges for extortion against Rahman, the detained son of Khaleda Zia.

"Speedy trial court judge Abdur Rouf Khan took cognizance of the case as a police officer read out charges of extortion against Tarique Rahman," a court registrar said.

The judge set the next hearing in the case for next Thursday.

Police escorted a pale-looking Rahman into court through a crush of lawyers and visitors, witnesses said.

Rahman, 40, was charged with illegally taking 10 million taka (US$147,000) in January from the owner of a construction firm.

"The trial will end in the next 60 days," a law ministry official said yesterday.

"The speedy trial courts are mandated to complete trials within the stipulated time [two months]," the official said.

Bangladesh's army-backed interim government said, meanwhile, it might allow indoor political activity to resume in three months but would not rush into holding elections.

All political activity has been banned since authorities imposed a state of emergency and postponed parliamentary elections planned for Jan. 22 in the wake of widespread violence.

"We are planning to lift the ban [on indoor politics]," Mainul Husein, the administration's law and information adviser, told reporters late on Sunday.

However, he ruled out holding elections until more reforms were in place.
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