Corruption trial begins against Hasina, nieces

Dhaka: , Aug 13 (PTI) The corruption trial against ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina and 17 others, including her nieces Azmina Siddiq and British MP Tulip Siddiq, in a housing plot scam started on Wednesday at a Dhaka court with depositions of the complainant, media reports said.

Afnan Jannat Keya, a complainant who is an assistant director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), testified before Judge Md Rabiul Alam of the Special Judge’s Court-4 in Dhaka in the afternoon, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

Earlier, ACC Deputy Director Md Salahuddin, also the complainant of another graft case, gave his statement before Judge Alam in another case filed against 17 people, including Hasina, Sheikh Rehana and Tulip.

London-based Siddiq, who represents the UK capital’s Hampstead and Highgate constituency for the governing Labour Party, resigned as Treasury minister earlier this year after allegations of corruption against her family following the ACC’s investigations.

The 42-year-old politician, who has consistently denied allegations of wrongdoing, has accused the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Dhaka of an orchestrated “smear campaign” to damage her reputation.