Bangladesh court hands jail sentence to ousted leader's niece, British MP Tulip Siddiq

A Bangladesh court sentenced Sheikh Rehana – sister of former premier Sheikh Hasina – to seven years in prison Monday for corruption in a case involving the grabbing of lucrative plots in the capital.

Rehana's daughter Tulip Siddiq, who is a British lawmaker, was handed a two-year sentence in the same case, said Khan Mainul Hasan, prosecutor for the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Hasina, who was given the death penalty for crimes against humanity last month, and 14 other government officials were condemned to five years of imprisonment.

The 78-year-old former premier has sought refuge in India since her ouster last year following a student-led uprising, but Rehana's whereabouts remain unknown.

Siddiq, who resigned as British anti-corruption minister in January after being named in graft probes in Bangladesh, has called the trial a "persecution and a farce".

Hasan said they had details of Siddiq's correspondence with Salahuddin Ahmed, the principal secretary to the then prime minister, exposing her role in the case.

"Tulip insisted that her aunt Sheikh Hasina allocate plots for her mother and siblings, as she herself took three – one for her and two for her children," Hasan said.

"She called him (Ahmed), communicated via some encrypted apps, and even met him while she was in Dhaka."

Judge Rabiul Alam quoted verses from the Quran as he read out the judgement.

"The court has full authority to try any Bangladeshi, whether the person is in the country or abroad," he observed.

The interim government would notify the British authorities about Monday's verdict, prosecutors said.

In a recent interview with British daily The Guardian, Siddiq said she was "collateral damage" in the feud between interim leader Muhammad Yunus and her aunt.

Siddiq dismissed the charges against her as "completely absurd" and politically motivated, claiming they stem from her connection to her aunt, Sheikh Hasina. She also denied holding a Bangladeshi passport or ID, calling the identity documents presented by authorities in Dhaka forgeries.

"This whole process has been flawed and farcical from the beginning to the end. The outcome of this kangaroo court is as predictable as it is unjustified," she told the newspaper. 

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters)