Detained former Bangladeshi premier Sheikh Hasina Wajed scored a victory against the army-backed government Wednesday with a court ruling that she could not be tried for corruption under emergency laws.
The former premier, who led the country from 1996 to 2001, is one of around 150 high-profile figures arrested as part of an anti-graft drive by the emergency government, which took office in January 2007. She is being tried by a special fast-track court, but the High Court in Dhaka said this was illegal - effectively throwing into doubt all other completed or pending corruption cases pushed by the authorities.
Sheikh Hasina's lawyer said, however, that this victory would be short-lived, with the government set to take the matter to the Supreme Court - a body that has in the past sided with the authorities. "It's a major victory for us. The High Court... gave the verdict in favour of the former prime minister," Kamrul Islam said.
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