Ex-premier charged in Bangladesh

A former prime minister of Bangladesh and 45 members of her political alliance have been charged in the deaths of four of their rivals during riots last year, news reports said.

Sheikh Hasina Wajed, who was prime minister from 1996 to 2001, called the charges an attempt to intimidate her. Wajed, who was visiting her children in the United States, said she would not be deterred from returning to Bangladesh.

Protests erupted in October when Wajed’s bitter rival, Khaleda Zia, ended her five-year term as prime minister and handed over power to an interim government to prepare for parliamentary elections.

Wajed and 45 members of her political alliance were charged in the deaths of four activists from the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, a party allied with Zia’s, in rioting during the protests, the domestic news agency bdnews24.com reported.