Awami League Rejects Dhaka Court’s Verdict Against Hasina, Says ‘Entirely Predictable’ | World News

Awami League on Monday rejected the Dhaka court order against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her family members in the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) case, calling it “completely foreseeable”.

Criticizing the interim government led by Mohammed Younis, the party claimed that the decision reflected how the ACC was “weaponised” for political purposes by “desperate, unelected men”.

Earlier in the day, the court sentenced Hasina to five years in prison over alleged irregularities in the Purbachal New Town land allotment project. Her sister Sheikh Rehana was sentenced to seven years in prison, while her niece, British MP Tulip Siddiq, was sentenced to two years in prison.

A statement issued by the Awami League said, “No convincing evidence of corruption has been heard in the ACC because there is no such evidence. The accused did not have proper legal representation in the ACC and were tried in absentia. The process fails the reasonable test of judicial fairness, a point strongly emphasized by both domestic and international legal experts.”

The party alleged that unelected interim leader Muhammad Younis was seeking personal revenge against Sheikh Hasina and baselessly targeting elected officials abroad. He also stated that the entire judicial and diplomatic incident was counterproductive and tarnished Bangladesh’s international reputation.

“No country is immune from corruption. But corruption needs to be investigated in a way that is not itself corrupt. The ACC failed this test today. It is controlled by an unelected government led by political opponents of the Awami League. It has specifically targeted Awami League members or those seen as sympathetic to our party and has done nothing to investigate or prosecute the nepotism that has escalated in Bangladesh since Muhammad Younis and his so-called interim government came to power.” Awami League quoted Hasina.

The former Prime Minister said the decision only served the interests of “Yunus and his ragtag coalition of extremists and opportunists” and warned that the entire incident risked damaging Bangladesh’s standing with its major trading partners.

(With inputs from IANS)