A Bangladesh court on Monday convicted and sentenced deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to five years’ imprisonment and her niece, British MP Tulip Siddiq, to two years in a land scam case. Judge Md Rabiul Alam of Special Judge’s Court-4 in Dhaka also sentenced Hasina’s sister, Sheikh Rehana, to seven years in the corruption case brought against 17 people.
The verdict was delivered in a packed courtroom in the absence of Hasina, Rehana and Siddiq. The 14 other accused, mostly former government officials, received five-year prison terms each; only one of those 14 was in jail and faced the trial in person. The court imposed a fine of Tk 1 lakh on each of the 17 convicts, including Hasina, Rehana and Siddiq, with an additional six months’ jail if the fines are not paid.
Siddiq, a British-Bangladeshi Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate since 2015, condemned the ruling in a London statement, calling it “unjustified” and saying she refused to be “distracted by the dirty politics of Bangladesh.” “The outcome of this kangaroo court is as predictable as it is unjustified. I hope this so-called ‘verdict’ will be treated with the contempt it deserves,” she added.
Authorities say Siddiq influenced Hasina to secure a plot of land on Dhaka’s outskirts for Siddiq’s mother, brother and sister, a charge Siddiq denies. In April, the interim government issued an arrest warrant for Siddiq as part of investigations into alleged corruption during Hasina’s premiership.
