Dhaka (Bangaladesh): A Bangladesh court on Monday convicted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in a high-profile land scam case, sentencing her to five years in prison. Her sister Sheikh Rehana received a seven-year jail term, while her niece and British MP Tulip Siddiq was handed a two-year sentence.
The verdict was delivered by Judge Md Rabiul Alam of Dhaka’s Special Judge’s Court-4, which also convicted 14 other accused, each receiving a five-year term. All 17 convicts, including Hasina, Rehana and Siddiq, were fined Tk 1 lakh. Failure to pay will add six months to their sentences.
This is the fourth corruption verdict against the 78-year-old former premier, according to reports by local media, including BSS and The Daily Star. Siddiq, a British-Bangladeshi Labour MP representing Hampstead and Highgate since 2015, is the daughter of Rehana. She has been under investigation since an arrest warrant was issued against her in April.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the land scam case on January 13, accusing the accused of illegally obtaining plots during Hasina’s tenure. A chargesheet was submitted on March 10 against 17 individuals. The case is one of six filed between January 12 and 14 over alleged irregularities in plot allocations under the Purbachal New Town project.
Investigators alleged that Hasina, in collusion with senior Rajuk officials, secured six plots measuring 10 kathas each in Sector 27’s diplomatic zone for herself and close relatives—including her children Sajeeb Wazed Joy and Saima Wazed Putul—despite them being ineligible under the rules. Rajuk is the state housing authority responsible for overseeing government-backed construction and urban development.
On July 31, charges were framed against 29 people in multiple linked cases. On November 27, Hasina was separately sentenced to 21 years—seven years in each of three Purbachal-related cases—while Joy and Putul received five-year sentences in other cases.
Hasina fled Bangladesh on August 5 last year after mass protests forced her government from power. She has since been living in India and has been declared a fugitive by Bangladeshi courts. Last month, she was sentenced to death in absentia by a special tribunal for “crimes against humanity” related to last year’s violent crackdown on student protesters.
Hasina has maintained that the charges are politically motivated and biased.
Bangladesh’s interim government has sought her extradition, with Foreign Affairs Adviser M Touhid Hossain stating that the legal process is now complete and Dhaka expects a formal response from New Delhi. India has said it is reviewing the request and will act in the best interests of the Bangladeshi people.
Meanwhile, most senior Awami League leaders have either been arrested or gone into hiding following the collapse of Hasina’s administration.
