Just over a week after receiving a death sentence linked to the 2024 student-led uprising in Bangladesh, ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was on Thursday sentenced to 21 years in prison in three separate corruption cases, local media reported.
The corruption charges stem from alleged irregularities in the allocation of plots in the Rajuk New Town Project in Purbachol. The state-run BSS news agency detailed that Hasina received seven years in prison for each of the three cases, with sentences to run consecutively.
The court, in its judgment, said, “The plot was allotted to Sheikh Hasina without any application and in a manner that exceeded the legally authorised jurisdiction.”
Hasina, who was Bangladesh’s longest-serving Prime Minister, was tried in absentia and the judge delivered the verdict, citing her status as a fugitive.
On November 17, the International Crimes Tribunal had sentenced Hasina to death after finding her guilty of ordering a violent crackdown on a student-led uprising that occurred between July and August last year.
According to a UN report, the unrest resulted in an estimated 1,400 deaths and thousands of injuries, most caused by security forces’ gunfire, making it the deadliest political violence in Bangladesh since its 1971 war of independence.
The recent conviction and sentencing for corruption follow significant political upheaval in Bangladesh. Hasina left for neighbouring India during the peak of the protests in August 2024.
In response to the latest verdict, Hasina released a statement rejecting the legitimacy of the proceedings, saying she dismissed the court as a “rigged tribunal”.
The timing of the verdict comes as Bangladesh prepares for elections scheduled in February. The sentencing of the country’s longest-serving leader has added to the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming polls, with observers noting the potential for further unrest as political tensions persist.
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