Bangladesh Court Sentences Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina and British Lawmaker Tulip Siddiq
A court in Bangladesh’s capital has sentenced ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to five years in prison and her niece, British Labour Party MP Tulip Siddiq, to two years for corruption linked to a government land project. Judge Rabiul Alam of Dhaka’s Special Judge’s Court stated that Hasina misused her power as prime minister, while Siddiq was fo
und guilty of influencing her aunt to help her mother and two siblings obtain a government land plot. Siddiq’s mother, Sheikh Rehana, received seven years in prison, and 14 others were also implicated in the case. Siddiq, who represents Hampstead and Highgate in the UK Parliament, denied the allegations, calling the trial a “farce” driven by political vendetta. She had previously resigned as a government minister due to her ties to Hasina. In a separate case earlier on November 27, Hasina was sentenced to 21 years in prison, while her son and daughter each received five-year terms. All trials were conducted in absentia, as Hasina currently lives in exile in India. This development comes amid ongoing political tensions following last year’s mass uprising that ended Hasina’s 15-year rule.