DHAKA: A court in Bangladesh on Thursday sentenced ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina to 21 years in prison on corruption charges, adding to her mounting legal troubles just a week after she was given the death penalty for crimes against humanity.
Hasina, 78, is currently residing in India and has repeatedly defied court orders to return to Bangladesh. According to AFP, she was sentenced in absentia on November 17 to be hanged for allegedly ordering a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year that eventually forced her from power.
The latest convictions stem from three corruption cases filed by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), accusing the former leader of grabbing valuable plots of government land in a suburb of Dhaka. Dhaka Tribune reported that Hasina received seven years’ imprisonment in each case, though it remains unclear whether the sentences will run concurrently.
Judge Abdullah Al Mamun said Hasina’s actions “demonstrate a persistent corruption mindset rooted in entitlement, unchecked power, and a greedy eye for public property.”
“Treating public land as a private asset, she directed her greedy eye toward state resources and manipulated official procedures to benefit herself and her close relatives,” the ruling stated.
Her children — Sajeeb Wazed, who lives in the United States, and Saima Wazed, a senior UN official — were also sentenced to five years each.
Hasina fled Bangladesh by helicopter on August 5, 2024, following weeks of nationwide student protests denouncing her autocratic rule. The unrest, according to the United Nations, left up to 1,400 people dead as security forces tried to quash dissent.
Public prosecutor Khan Moinul Hasan said he would appeal Thursday’s verdict, noting:
“We are not satisfied with the verdict, as we had sought maximum punishment.”
The three corruption cases together name 47 accused, with 23 individuals formally listed across the indictments.
Bangladesh has remained politically volatile since Hasina’s fall, with ongoing violence overshadowing campaigning ahead of the February 2026 elections. Hasina has dismissed all charges — including the death sentence — as “biased and politically motivated.”
She also faces three additional corruption trials, alongside her sister Sheikh Rehana and her children, including British MP Tulip Siddiq.
