Bangladesh ex-minister gets jail for tax evasion

DHAKA, Aug 29 (Reuters) A Bangladesh court sentenced former minister Shahjahan Siraj to eight years in jail on Wednesday for not paying income tax, court officials said.

The court ordered his wife Rabeya Siraj and son Rajib Siraj to also serve eight years each in jail for helping the ex-minister to conceal taxable income.

The special anti-corruption court passed sentence in the absence of the accused, who police said have been in hiding since the army-backed interim government launched a nationwide drive against corruption after taking charge in January this year.

Siraj served as a cabinet minister in the government of the most recent prime minister, Begum Khaleda Zia.

More than 170 senior politicians, including more than a dozen former ministers and a son of Khaleda, have been detained for alleged corruption during the campaign.

Several of them, who served in government's led by both Khaleda and her rival Sheikh Hasina, have already been convicted and sentenced to various prison terms.

The interim authority, headed by former central bank chief Fakhruddin Ahmed, has promised to hold a free and fair election around the end of next year after completing the drive against corruption.

REUTERS SS RN1637