DHAKA, Bangladesh: A Bangladesh court has handed prison sentences to Sheikh Rehana, sister of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, and her daughter Tulip Siddiq — a British lawmaker — in a high-profile corruption case linked to the illegal allocation of lucrative land plots in Dhaka, deepening the political turmoil surrounding the ousted premier’s family.
The Bangladesh court sentenced Sheikh Rehana – sister of former Hasina – to seven years in prison in a case involving the grabbing of lucrative plots in the capital while Rehana’s daughter Tulip Siddiq, who is a British lawmaker, was handed a two-year sentence in the same case, said Khan Mainul Hasan, prosecutor for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Hasina, who was given the death penalty for crimes against humanity last month, and 14 other government officials were condemned to five years of imprisonment.
The 78-year-old former premier has sought refuge in India since her ouster last year following a student-led uprising, but Rehana’s whereabouts remain unknown, according to AFP.
Siddiq, who resigned as British anti-corruption minister in January after being named in graft probes in Bangladesh, has called the trial a “persecution and a farce”.
Hasan said they had details of Siddiq’s correspondence with Salahuddin Ahmed, the principal secretary to the then prime minister, exposing her role in the case.
“Tulip insisted that her aunt Sheikh Hasina allocate plots for her mother and siblings, as she herself took three — one for her and two for her children,” Hasan said.
“She called him (Ahmed), communicated via some encrypted apps, and even met him while she was in Dhaka.”
Judge Rabiul Alam quoted verses from the Quran as he read out the judgement.
“The court has full authority to try any Bangladeshi, whether the person is in the country or abroad,” he observed.
Hasina decried the latest verdict in a statement mailed to AFP on Monday.
“No country is free from corruption. But corruption needs to be investigated in a way that is not itself corrupt. The ACC has failed that test today,” she said.
The interim government would notify the British authorities about Monday’s verdict, prosecutors said.
There was no immediate reaction from Siddiq.
However, in a recent interview with The Guardian newspaper, Siddiq said she was “collateral damage” in the feud between interim leader Muhammad Yunus and her aunt.
Bangladesh has been in political turmoil since the end of Hasina’s rule, and violence has marred campaigning for elections slated for February 2026.
The United Nations says up to 1,400 people were killed in crackdowns as Hasina tried to cling to power.
