On Monday, December 1st, a court in Dhaka, Bangladesh, sentenced British Labour Party MP and former UK Cabinet Minister Tulip Siddiq to two years in prison in absentia for involvement in a corruption case related to illegal land distribution. Other defendants in the case include Siddiq’s aunt, former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and her sister Sheikh Rehana.
Due to all three individuals not appearing in court, the absentia verdict was issued: Siddiq received a 2-year sentence, her mother Rehana was sentenced to 7 years in prison, and former Prime Minister Hasina was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
Bangladesh Special Tribunal Judge Rabiul Alam noted that 78-year-old Hasina abused her position as prime minister during her tenure, while Siddiq assisted her mother Rehana and siblings in obtaining land in government projects through improper means. Rehana was considered the main culprit in the case.
The judge also imposed fines of $813 on each of the three defendants and ordered the land allocated to Rehana to be revoked.
There are 14 other defendants involved in this case.
Bangladesh Anti-Corruption prosecutor Khan Mohammed Mainul Hasan stated that the prosecution had requested a life sentence for the primary defendants.
“We expected a life sentence to be given, but the outcome was different. We will discuss the next course of action with the committee,” he said.
The prosecution indicated that Siddiq was tried as a Bangladeshi citizen and had provided her passport, national identity card, and tax number. However, Siddiq objected to this, asserting her British citizenship.
As a member of the British Parliament, Siddiq denied all charges, calling the trial a “farce based on fabricated charges and clearly motivated by political revenge.”
In January of this year, Siddiq came under widespread scrutiny for her financial ties to the Hasina family involved in corruption cases, leading to her resignation as the Shadow Secretary for Economic Affairs in the UK Labour Party government.
The Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission has filed three lawsuits against individuals related to former Prime Minister Hasina’s son and daughter. In independent trials related to the same corruption case, another court sentenced Hasina to 21 years in prison on November 27th.
Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and daughter Saima Wazed were each sentenced to 5 years in prison for their involvement in “illegal distribution of state-owned land.”
On November 17th, Hasina was found guilty of crimes against humanity for suppressing a massive uprising that ended her fifteen-year rule last year and was sentenced to death by the court.
In August last year, Hasina fled to India by helicopter as protesting crowds stormed her residence. She remains in India, and all trials have been conducted in absentia.
The United Nations stated that, during Hasina’s bloody crackdown to solidify her rule, up to 1400 people were killed.
In these trials, Hasina and other defendants did not appoint defense lawyers.
Rehana and Siddiq’s siblings, implicated in other charges related to last year’s national uprising, have fled overseas.
Following Hasina’s resignation, Bangladesh set up a caretaker government led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus. Yunus announced that the next parliamentary elections would be held in February next year.