Ousted Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Hasina has been handed a fresh 21-year prison sentence in three corruption cases involving illegal land allocations, intensifying the legal pressures mounting against her since she fled the country last year.
A Dhaka court ruled on Thursday that Hasina improperly secured valuable plots in the government-run Purbachal New Town project for herself and her family, despite their ineligibility. Judge Abdullah Al Mamun described her actions as evidence of “unchecked power” and a “greedy eye for public property,” ordering that the three seven-year sentences be served consecutively. Her son Sajeeb Wazed and daughter Saima Wazed were also sentenced to five years each in one of the cases.
The verdict comes just days after Hasina received a death sentence for alleged crimes against humanity tied to a deadly crackdown on student-led protests that led to her ouster in 2024. Now 78 and residing in India, Hasina has refused to return to Bangladesh, as New Delhi considers Dhaka’s extradition request.
Families of victims of last year’s protests say justice will not be complete until she is brought back to face punishment, while her Awami League party insists the charges are politically motivated. More corruption cases are pending, with another ruling expected on December 1, as Bangladesh navigates a tense political transition under an interim government ahead of 2026 elections.
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