Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina and her niece, British parliamentarian, convicted of corruption

Bangladesh's judiciary has sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to an additional five years in prison in a complex corruption case. Her niece, Tulip Siddiq, a British parliamentarian, received a two-year prison sentence in the same matter.

The court in Dhaka also sentenced Ms. Hasina's sister, Sheikh Renaha, in absentia, to seven years of imprisonment, along with fourteen other Bangladeshi officials who received five-year sentences.

All individuals were found guilty of involvement in a lucrative land fraud scheme that illegally allowed them to acquire land in the suburbs of the country’s largest city.

In a statement sent to AFP by a British communication agency, Ms. Hasina rejected the court's decision made on Monday.

"Corruption exists in all countries. But it must be investigated without being corrupt itself," she argued, condemning an inquiry "controlled by an unelected government led by my party's political opponents."

Since Ms. Hasina's ousting and exile in India, Bangladesh has been governed by a provisional government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, until elections expected next February.

Her niece, Tulip Siddiq, 43, described the judgment as a "fake and grotesque" ruling that she hoped would be treated with the contempt it deserves.

She had resigned in January from her position as Secretary of State for Financial Services in Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government after being implicated in this case.

In a recent interview with the British daily The Guardian, Ms. Siddiq identified herself as a "collateral victim" of the political conflict between her aunt and Mr. Yunus.

Sheikh Hasina had already been sentenced the previous week to twenty years in prison in another aspect of this case, while her daughter and son received five-year sentences.

The former head of government, 78, was also sentenced last month by her country’s judiciary to death for ordering the crackdown on riots that led to her downfall in August 2024.

The "iron lady" denied giving orders for security forces to open fire on protesters and condemned the verdict as "politically motivated."

According to the UN, the crackdown on these riots resulted in the deaths of at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians.

AFP