Dhaka court sentences ex-Bangladeshi PM, British lawmaker to prison

Dec. 1 (UPI) -- A Dhaka court sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a British member of parliament and 14 others to prison on Monday, in a sprawling case revolving around influence peddling, corruption and the illegal allocation of land in the nation's capital.

Judge Rabiul Alam ruled Monday that Hasina had misused her powers as prime minister to influence officials to secure land allocations for her and her family, Dhaka Tribune reported. Alam also found Hasina's sister, Sheikh Rehana, and Rehana's daughter, British Labor MP Tulip Siddiq, had obtained plots by illegally influencing the prime minister, according to the local outlet.

The court found that Siddiq had influenced the process from Britain via social media platforms.

Hasina received a five-year sentence, Rehana a seven-year sentence and Siddiq a two-year sentence and a $821 fine, local daily Prothom Alo reported. The 14 others accused in the case each received five years.

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Of the 17 defendants, only one was in court on Monday.

The case was filed mid-January, with the government accusing the defendants in connection with the illegal acquisition of plots of land in the Purbachal New City project in Dhaka.

According to the government, Purbachal New Town is "the biggest planned township in the country" at 6,213 acres, and will have about 26,000 residential plots of various sizes as well as 62,000 apartments.

The government said developer RAJUK "intends to plan and develop the area as self-contained New Township with all modern facilities and opportunities" with the intention of reducing population density in the capital and the existing acute housing problem.

The Anti-Corruption Commission had filed the case mid-January, accusing Siddiq of having illegally used her position as a British member of parliament to secure plots of land for her mother, Rehana, sister, Azmina Siddiq and brother, Radwan Mujib.

Both Mujib and Azmina Siddiq have been charged in a separate case.

Hasina resigned as prime minister in August 2024, and fled to India amid growing public anger over quotas for government jobs and a brutal crackdown on protests by her government that led to the deaths of as many as 1,400 people.

Last month, she was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity.

Siddiq, the sitting British member of parliament for the north London district of Hampstead and Kilburn, has strongly denied the charges against her. She resigned as Economic Secretary to the Treasury in Prime Minister Keir Starmer's cabinet in January over the case, despite an ethics investigation finding no wrong doing.

However, the independent ethics adviser criticized her for not being more alive to the "potential reputational risks" to the government from her ties to Hasina and being named by the Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission, initially in an investigation of infrastructure projects, and then over the land deal.