A British parliamentarian has been sentenced to two years in prison by a court in Bangladesh after being convicted of corruption charges related to a government land allocation scheme.
Tulip Siddiq, the 43 year old Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Hampstead and Highgate, was found guilty in absentia on Monday of corruptly influencing her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the ousted former prime minister of Bangladesh, to secure a plot of land for her family. Judge Rabiul Alam of Dhaka’s Special Judge’s Court also imposed a fine of 100,000 Bangladeshi Taka, approximately 813 US dollars, with an additional six months of imprisonment if the fine remains unpaid.
The MP was convicted of helping her mother and two siblings obtain a land plot in a government project, according to the court ruling. Siddiq was sentenced alongside 16 other individuals, including Hasina, who received five years in prison, and Siddiq’s mother, Sheikh Rehana, who was given seven years and was considered the prime participant in the case. Most of the accused were absent when the judgment was pronounced.
The Labour MP dismissed the verdict as politically motivated. “The outcome of this kangaroo court is as predictable as it is unjustified,” she said in a statement. Siddiq added that she had received no contact whatsoever from Bangladeshi authorities and claimed there had been no summons sent to her.
The prosecution alleged that Siddiq had details of her correspondence with Salahuddin Ahmed, Hasina’s principal secretary, exposing her role in the case. Prosecutors said Siddiq insisted that Hasina allocate plots for her mother and siblings, and claimed she communicated through encrypted apps and met with officials while in Dhaka.
Britain’s ruling Labour Party said it could not recognize the judgement because Siddiq did not have access to a fair legal process and had never been informed of the details of the charges against her. The United Kingdom (UK) does not have an extradition treaty with Bangladesh, making it unlikely Siddiq would serve the sentence.
Last week, prominent British legal figures including Cherie Blair KC, Robert Buckland KC, and former attorney general Dominic Grieve signed a joint letter expressing serious concerns that the trial was unfair. The letter noted that a lawyer Siddiq appointed in Bangladesh was forced to stand down after being placed under house arrest, with his daughter receiving threats. The group argued the proceedings fall far short of standards of fairness recognised internationally.
Siddiq resigned from her position as Economic Secretary to the Treasury in January following pressure over her ties to her aunt and allegations of financial impropriety. The Financial Times reported that a developer with links to the Awami League gave a flat purchased in 2001 for 195,000 pounds to Siddiq without charge in 2004, contradicting her earlier claims that her parents had bought the property.
The MP and her family members were also named in a separate investigation by Bangladesh’s Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) involving allegations of embezzlement of up to 4 billion pounds linked to a Russia funded nuclear plant deal. Siddiq has denied all wrongdoing related to these allegations.
An inquiry by Sir Lauri Magnus, the independent adviser on Ministerial Standards, concluded that Siddiq did not breach the Ministerial Code but should have been more alert to the potential reputational risks from her close family’s association with Bangladesh.
Sheikh Hasina was sentenced to death in November for crimes against humanity involving the crackdown on the mass uprising that ended her 15 year rule last year. She fled to India in August 2024 and has been living in exile. A separate court sentenced Hasina to 21 years in prison last week in three separate corruption cases involving the same township project.
Siddiq’s mother and two siblings remain outside Bangladesh as they face other charges related to the uprising. Political observers in Bangladesh had predicted a guilty verdict was highly likely given Hasina’s recent convictions in related cases.
