A court in Dhaka has sentenced former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to five years in prison, and her niece, British Labour MP Tulip Siddiq, to two years, after finding them guilty of corruption in a government land deal. Both women were tried in absentia. Judge Rabiul Alam ruled that Hasina, who has been living in exile in India since being toppled in a mass uprising last year, abused her powers in helping allocate plots of land in a Dhaka project.
Siddiq was found guilty of pressuring her aunt to help secure plots for her mother, Sheikh Rehana, and two siblings. Rehana, who is no longer based in Bangladesh, received a seven-year sentence, and all three were fined 100,000 taka each, with an additional six months in jail if they fail to pay. Fourteen other defendants were handed five-year sentences.
Prosecutor Khan Mainul Hasan said investigators had evidence of Siddiq’s messages, calls, and meetings with Hasina’s principal secretary, showing her involvement in influencing the allocation of plots. He said Siddiq herself had taken three plots — one for her and two for her children.
Hasina and Siddiq did not appoint lawyers, dismissing the charges as politically driven. Hasina, who was sentenced to death last month for crimes against humanity related to a deadly crackdown on protesters in 2024, rejected the corruption verdict in a statement, saying the Anti-Corruption Commission had acted unfairly. Her Awami League party echoed this, describing the ruling as politically motivated.
Siddiq has not commented on the new verdict, though she earlier called the allegations a “politically motivated smear”. Her close family ties to Hasina forced her to resign earlier this year as the UK minister overseeing financial services and anti-corruption. A UK ethics review found she had not broken ministerial rules but recommended reconsidering her responsibilities.
Bangladesh is expected to contact the UK government about the verdict, though the two countries do not have an extradition treaty. Prosecutors claim Siddiq holds Bangladeshi citizenship, but she has repeatedly denied this, insisting she is solely a British citizen.
The ruling comes just days after another court sentenced Hasina to 21 years in prison in separate cases involving the same housing project. Her son and daughter were also convicted and handed five-year sentences.
