Murder charges were filed against former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina and more than 50 others on yesterday, as the military-backed interim government hounding the political class sailed confidently into its fourth month.
The announcement came on the same day as the government severely curtailed the freedom of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Jamaat-e-Islami chief Matiur Rahman Nizami and his nine party leaders were among those charged with killing a number of activists during street campaigns on Oct. 28.
Senior leaders of Hasina's 14-party alliance were also charged with the same offence because open rioting by the two groups had resulted in the deaths of 10 people, police said.
Hasina is expected to cut short a visit to the US to return home next week so she can be available for an investigation into charges filed this week by a businessman that she had extorted more than US$400,000 while in power.
Meanwhile, Zia, who ended a five-year term as prime minister last October, is in virtual confinement at her Dhaka home.
There has been widespread media speculation that the government is seeking to force both Hasina and Zia into political exile but this has been denied by the administration.
Zia's acting secretary said yesterday that the "intelligence department sent the order to the guards at Zia's house that only four people could meet her from now on."
He named the people as her two brothers, a personal physician and former member of parliament. Khaleda's elder son, Tareque Rahman, a BNP leader and her apparent political heir, has been in jail since March 7. He faces charges of extortion and abuse of power for amassing huge wealth.
About 160 other senior politicians have been detained in a crackdown on corruption which was launched by the interim government after it imposed a state of emergency on Jan. 11 following months of political turmoil over allegations of poll rigging.
Abdul Jalil, general secretary of Hasina's Awami League party, termed both the extortion and murder charges against her as baseless and farcical.
"The charges will not stand up in the court of law," he said.
Ali Ahsan Mujahid, secretary-general of the Jamaat-e-Islami, said "the murder charge brought against us was only to harass the party and its leadership. The law will acquit us."
The administration postponed general elections planned for Jan. 22 after violence, largely between supporters of the Awami League and the BNP, raged nationwide.
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