Dhaka: A Bangladesh court on Monday convicted and sentenced deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to five years in prison and her niece, British Labour Party MP Tulip Siddiq, to a two-year jail term in a high-profile land scam case. Hasina’s sister, Sheikh Rehana, was handed a seven-year sentence, while the 14 other accused received five-year jail terms each, the state-run BSS news agency reported.
Judge Md Rabiul Alam of the Special Judge’s Court-4 of Dhaka also imposed a fine of Tk 1 lakh on all 17 convicts, including Hasina, Rehana, and Siddiq. Those failing to pay the fine will face an additional six months in jail.
This marks the fourth verdict against 78-year-old Hasina in graft cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), according to The Daily Star. Siddiq, 43, Rehana’s daughter and Member of Parliament for Hampstead and Highgate since 2015, had an interim arrest warrant issued against her in April as part of corruption investigations during Hasina’s tenure.
The ACC filed the land scam case on January 13, 2025, against 15 individuals, including Hasina, Rehana, and Siddiq, alleging unlawful acquisition of plots during the former premier’s administration. Charges were later framed against 29 people on July 31 in connection with these cases. The Investigating Officer had submitted a charge sheet against 17 accused on March 10.
According to reports, the ACC filed six separate cases between January 12 and 14 with its Dhaka Integrated District Office-1 over alleged irregularities in plot allocations under the Purbachal New Town project. The anti-graft body claimed that Hasina, in collusion with senior officials of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), the state agency overseeing compliance from planning to construction of government-aided buildings, unlawfully secured six plots in the diplomatic zone of Sector 27 of Purbachal New Town for herself, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy, daughter Saima Wazed Putul, sister Rehana, niece Siddiq, and several other relatives, despite ineligibility under existing regulations.
Earlier, on November 27, Hasina was sentenced in absentia to 21 years of rigorous imprisonment—seven years each in three separate cases related to the Purbachal plot scam. Joy and Putul were co-accused in separate cases and received five-year jail terms.
Hasina has been living in India since fleeing Bangladesh on August 5 last year, following widespread protests that toppled her Awami League government. She was declared a fugitive by a Bangladeshi court and last month was sentenced to death in absentia by a special tribunal for “crimes against humanity” related to the government’s violent crackdown on student-led protests in 2024. Hasina maintains that all charges against her are “biased and politically motivated.”
Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser, M Touhid Hossain, last week stated that Dhaka expects a response from India regarding its request for Hasina’s extradition, asserting that the judicial process has now concluded and the former premier has been convicted. New Delhi has said it is examining the request while affirming its commitment to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh.
Since the fall of Hasina’s government, most Awami League leaders have either been arrested or have fled the country.
With PTI inputs