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Hasina, Selim get bail in Azam J case

Staff Correspondent
The High Court (HC) yesterday granted three months' ad interim bail to Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina and her cousin Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim in the extortion case filed by businessman Azam I Chowdhury.
An HC vacation bench comprising Justice Mirza Hussain Haider
and Justice Mamnoon Rahman also stayed the case proceedings against Hasina till October 19.
This is the first bail secured by the former prime minister in the five cases filed against her since the military-backed caretaker government took over on January 11 last year.
However, Hasina's counsel
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Shafique Ahmed said if they could secure bail in the extortion case filed by businessman Noor Ali, there would be no legal bar to his client’s release.
He said since the HC has already stayed proceedings in Niko and barge-mounted power plant graft cases, bail in those cases is not that crucial
The same applies to the extortion case filed by businessman Tajul Islam Faruq as she was not shown arrested in the case, he added.
Hasina was arrested on July 16 last year on extortion charges.
The court yesterday also directed the prosecution and ' defence to make arrangements for hearing on its earlier rules asking the government to explain why initiation and continuation of the proceedings in Azam Chowdhury's extonion case should not be declared illegal.
Hasina's younger sister Sheikh Rehana, who is settled in London, is another accused in the case. She has been shown absconding.
Shafique said the HC has ruled in favour of bail for the AL chief as the government could not complete trial proceedings within the stipulated 90 days after the trial court had taken cognisance of the Tk 3 crore extortion case.
Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, AL presidium member and former health minister, was given bail on health grounds.
With yesterday's, he has had bail in the two cases against him and there is no legal bar to his release.
The lawyer said they will continue legal course to win the former prime minister bail in the other cases before her return home early next month.
"The High Court has already stayed proceedings in Niko and barge-mounted power plant cases
filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). We will still file bail petitions on her behalf," Shafique said.
Replying to a query, he said since the police did not submit charge sheets in the extortion cases filed by Noor Ali and Tajul Islam, there is no possibility of her being arrested in those cases on return from abroad.
He added that hearing of a petition seeking stay on the proceedings in the MiG-29 graft case against her would be held today.
The case is one of the 10 filed against her during the BNP-Jamaat-led alliance rule.
During hearing of bail pennons yesterday, Shafique argued that as the HC is on along vacation, the rules it issued earlier will not be effective in trial of the case at lower court.
This calls for the case proceedings to be stayed and the defendants granted bail, he contended.
Additional Attorney General Mansur Habib opposed the stay prayer. He said the government has no objection to Hasina getting bail, but the proceedings should not be halted.
The HC stayed the proceedings till the end of a week after the court returns from vacation on October 12.
On June 13 last year, Azam Chowdhury filed the case accusing Hasina and Selim of taking Tk 2.99 crore from him for a 210-MW power project contract.
He is the local agent of a Russian company that won the contract.
Police included Rehana's name in the charge sheet
Earlier on September 15, the same HC bench granted ad interim bail to Selim in a graft case. The ACC on April 23 this year filed the case for concealing wealth information and amassing assets through illegal means.