She describes her indictment in a graft case as a consequence of a wider political feud
British MP Tulip Siddiq. Photo: Reuters
“>
British MP Tulip Siddiq. Photo: Reuters
British MP Tulip Siddiq, niece of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina has said “dirty politics” of Bangladesh has turned her life on its head.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, she also described her indictment in a graft case as a consequence of a wider political feud.
“The truth is that I’m collateral damage, because of this feud between Muhammad Yunus and my aunt,” she said in the interview published in the Guardian today (10 August).
Tulip was charged with using her influence as the niece of Sheikh Hasina to secure a plot of land for her mother, brother and sister in Purbachal in Dhaka, the capital.
“Completely absurd,” Siddiq said about the graft allegation.
A trial date has been set for 11 August for her and more than 20 others.
When asked where she would make an appearance in person or by videolink, Tulip said, “I’m taking advice from Hugo Keith KC, who’s advising me on what my next steps are. I’m yet to see an official summons … I mean, I’m supposedly days away from a showcase trial in a foreign country, and I still don’t know what the charges are against me. I feel a bit like I’m trapped in this Kafkaesque nightmare where I’ve been put on trial and I genuinely haven’t found out what the allegations are and what the trial is about.”
She said, “There’s no extradition treaty, I looked that up myself actually.”