A Labour MP sentenced to two years in prison in Bangladesh over corruption allegations has branded the case a ‘kangaroo court’.
Tulip Siddiq, 43, was found guilty of influencing her aunt, Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, to secure a plot of land.
The plot, measuring roughly 13,610 square feet, was unlawfully allocated through political influence and collusion with senior officials, according to prosecutors.
Hasina was sentenced to death but fled to India in August 2024 before her arrest.
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Siddiq will unlikely serve the jail term she was handed in absentia – not present – in court.
She told the Guardian after the judgment: ‘The outcome of this kangaroo court is as predictable as it is unjustified.
‘I hope this so-called “verdict” will be treated with the contempt it deserves.’
This was the fourth guilty verdict handed to Hasina since she fled, according to the Bangladeshi newspaper Daily Sun.
Her aunt, Hasina, and Hasina’s sister, Sheikh Rehana, were sentenced to five years in jail and Rehana to seven.
The court also handed down prison terms to 20 other accused, including Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and daughter Saima Wazed Putul.
Siddiq resigned from the government over the corruption scandal in January, stressing that the details of her family were public record.
She wrote in her resignation letter: ‘I want to assure you that I acted and have continued to act with full transparency and on the advice of officials on these matters.
‘However, it is clear that continuing in my role as Economic Secretary to the Treasury is likely to be a distraction from the work of the government.’
An investigation by the Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, did not find ‘evidence of improprieties’.
The report said it was ‘regrettable’ that Siddiq had not been more aware of the ‘potential reputational risks’ of being connected with her aunt.
British lawyers and former ministers expressed concerns over Siddiq’s trial last week, saying the criminal proceedings were ‘artificial and a contrived and unfair way of pursuing a prosecution’.
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