Bangladesh ex-PM Sheikh Hasina, her niece Tulip Siddiq, a British lawmaker, found guilty in corruption case
Rabiul Alam, the judge, said that Hasina, during her tenure as PM, misused her power while Siddiq corruptly influenced her in the government land project. Notably, Siddiq's mother, Sheikh Rehana, has been sentenced to seven years of imprisonment.
New Delhi: The woes of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina do not seem to be getting over, with Dhaka’s Special Judge’s Court now sentencing her to five years of imprisonment and her niece, Tulip Siddiq, who is a British Labour Party Lawmaker, to two years in prison. The judgment came on December 1, following the trial for corruption over a land project of the government.
What did the verdict say?
Rabiul Alam, the judge, said that Hasina, during her tenure as PM, misused her power while Siddiq corruptly influenced her in the government land project. Notably, Siddiq’s mother, Sheikh Rehana, has been sentenced to seven years of imprisonment and was considered the prime participant in the case, which has 14 other suspects.
Who is Tulip Siddiq?
Tulip Siddiq is a lawmaker of the British Labour Party. She has represented London’s Hampstead and Highgate areas in Britain’s Parliament since 2015. She served as Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister from July 2024 to January 2025, when she resigned following allegations of misconduct, including her connections to the Hasina government that was overthrown following a mass protest in Bangladesh last year. She has repeatedly denied the allegations against her and called the trial a farce built on "fabricated accusations and driven by a clear political vendetta.”
Death sentence to Hasina
In November 2025, Hasina was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity during the crackdown on the mass uprising, which ousted her and forced Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's daughter to seek exile in India. All the trials against her have been conducted in absentia.
India has received an extradition request from Bangladesh's interim government for Hasina. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has stated that the request is "being examined as part of ongoing judicial and internal legal processes." While commenting on the extradition request, the MEA added, "We remain committed to the best interests of the people of Bangladesh, including peace, democracy, inclusion, and stability in that country and will continue to engage constructively in this regard with all stakeholders."