[JURIST] A judge in Bangladesh [JURIST news archive] sentenced Wadud Bhuiyan, a former lawmaker in the country, to 20 years in jail Sunday for acquiring land and property through corruption and abuse of power. The judge also ordered Bhuiyan, a member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party [Wikipedia backgrounder], who served in parliament from 2001 to 2006, to hand over his illegally obtained assets, worth nearly $1 million. Bhuiyan's lawyer said he plans to appeal the ruling. AP has more.

Last week, Bangladeshi authorities arrested [JURIST report] former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed [Wikipedia profile] following a raid on her home, accusing Hasina of extorting approximately $1.16 million from two businessmen. The Bangladeshi interim emergency government [JURIST report], which came to power in January with the backing of the military, has used its anti-corruption campaign [BBC Q&A; JURIST news archive] to justify the declaration of a state of emergency [JURIST report] allowing detention without warrants or specific charges. The emergency government has also filed corruption charges against Hasina's rival, former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia [UN profile] and jailed a UN human rights expert [JURIST report] who had been prevented from traveling to Geneva to deliver a report on human trafficking.