A Bangladesh court sentenced British legislator and former minister Tulip Siddiq in absentia to two years in jail yesterday in a corruption case involving the alleged illegal allocation of a plot of land, prosecutors said.
Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is Tulip’s aunt, was sentenced in absentia to five years in jail and her sister Rehana to seven.
Tulip, who resigned in January as Britain’s minister responsible for financial services and anti-corruption efforts following scrutiny over financial ties to Hasina, said in a statement the trial process was ‘flawed and farcical’.
Hasina fled to neighbouring India in August 2024 at the height of an uprising against her government. She was sentenced to death last month over her government’s violent crackdown on demonstrators during the protests.
Last week, Hasina was handed a combined 21-year prison sentence in other corruption cases.
“The outcome of this kangaroo court is as predictable as it is unjustified,” Tulip said.
“I hope this so-called ‘verdict’ will be treated with the contempt it deserves.”
Britain does not have an extradition treaty with Bangladesh.
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