UK MP Tulip Siddiq, aunt Sheikh Hasina sentenced to jail in Bangladesh land case

A court in Bangladesh’s capital of Dhaka sentenced former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to five years in prison and her niece, British Labour Party lawmaker Tulip Siddiq, to two years in prison on Monday for corruption involving a government land project.

Rabiul Alam, the judge of Dhaka’s Special Judge’s Court, said Hasina misused her power as prime minister while Siddiq was guilty of corruptly influencing her aunt in helping her mother and two siblings get a land plot in a government project.

Siddiq’s mother, Sheikh Rehana, was given seven years in prison and was considered the prime participant in the case.

The judge also fined the three US$813 each and ordered the cancellation of the allotted plot for Rehana. There are 14 other suspects.

Khan Mohammed Mainul Hasan, the corruption watchdog’s prosecutor, said they had sought life in prison for the prime defendants.

“We expected life sentences, [but] that did not happen. We will consult the commission for our next course of action,” he said.