DHAKA, Bangladesh -- A Bangladesh high court stopped former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's corruption trial, ruling the current emergency laws cannot be applied in her case.
Hasina's trial began Jan. 30 on charges brought by the military-backed interim government, which has arrested hundreds of other former officials and politicians on similar charges.
The high court in Dhaka, however, said she cannot be tried as the charges against her applied to a time prior to the imposition of emergency rule, the Voice of America reported. The government, which came to power in January 2007, appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court.
Hasina was being tried on a charge linking her to a $435,000 extortion case over a power project when she held office from 1996 to 2001. She has denied the allegation.
The VOA report quoted analysts as saying the high court ruling could benefit others being tried under the same emergency rules. They include Khaleda Zia, another former prime minister. Zia and Hasina alternately led the country for 15 years until 2006.
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