Bangladesh court sentences UK lawmaker Tulip Siddiq to two years in jail in absentia

DHAKA/LONDON: A Bangladesh court on Monday handed a two-year jail sentence to British lawmaker and former minister Tulip Siddiq in absentia in a corruption case linked to the alleged illegal allotment of state land, prosecutors said.

The same court sentenced former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Siddiq’s aunt, to five years, while Hasina’s sister, Rehana, was awarded a seven-year prison term. Siddiq resigned earlier this year from her role overseeing financial services and anti-corruption work in the UK after facing questions over her family’s financial links to Hasina.

In a statement, Siddiq rejected the proceedings, calling the trial process “flawed and farcical”. She said the outcome was expected, describing the court as a “kangaroo court” and urging that the ruling be treated “with the contempt it deserves”.

A spokesperson for Britain’s Labour Party, of which Siddiq is a member, said she was not given a fair legal process and was not informed of the full charges against her. The spokesperson added that the party could not acknowledge a verdict passed without the defendant being allowed an opportunity to defend herself. The UK has no extradition treaty with Bangladesh.

The court said the case involved the unlawful allocation of a 13,610-square-foot plot in Dhaka, allegedly obtained through political influence during Hasina’s tenure as prime minister. Prosecutors told the court that Siddiq, Hasina and Rehana misused their authority to obtain the land, which was earmarked for the development of a new township to ease housing pressure in the capital.

All three have been fined 100,000 taka — around $820 — with a further six months’ imprisonment for default. Fourteen additional individuals convicted in the same case were sentenced to five years in jail.

Hasina has been living in India since August 2024 after fleeing during an anti-government uprising. She was sentenced to death last month over allegations of ordering a deadly crackdown on protesters, and last week received a combined 21-year term in separate corruption convictions. Her party, the Awami League, maintains the cases are politically motivated, describing them as part of a campaign driven by “desperate, unelected men” under the interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.