Bangladesh court sentences ex-PM Hasina, UK lawmaker niece in graft case

Verdict comes ahead of elections on February 12 with ousted leader Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League barred from taking part.Published On 2 Feb 2026A Bangladesh court handed down jail sentences to exiled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her niece, UK lawmaker Tulip Siddiq, on corruption charges.The court in Dhaka on Monday sentenced Hasina to 10 years after she was accused by the country’s corruption watchdog of illegally securing property in a government land project near the capital for herself and family members.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3‘Deeply insecure’: Why Bangladeshi minorities are scared ahead of electionslist 2 of 3Can Bangladesh’s Awami League survive election ban, ex-PM Hasina’s exile?list 3 of 3Exiled leader Hasina denounces upcoming Bangladesh election after party banend of listHasina has been in exile in India since 2024 when she was ousted by a student-led mass uprising that ended her 15-year rule.She has since been sentenced to death in absentia on charges of crimes against humanity linked to the crackdown on the protests, which killed as many as 1,400 people, according to the United Nations.Judge Mohammed Rabiul Alam of the Special Judge’s Court-4 also sentenced Siddiq, a lawmaker for the United Kingdom’s governing Labour Party, to four years in prison in connection with the alleged land grab.Siddiq’s siblings, Azmina and Radwan Mujib, each received seven-year sentences for their involvement in the case.The Bangladesh military called on police in London to “arrest and hand over the fugitive Tulip and her wanted family members to the Bangladesh Law Enforcement agencies immediately”.Hasina and Tulip Siddiq were previously sentenced in similar cases regarding a government land project. Both denounced that verdict.Ex-PM Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka in 2016 [File: EPA]‘Misusing power’The prosecution said Siddiq influenced her aunt to help her mother – Sheikh Rehana, Hasina’s sister – and two siblings acquire a plot in the government project in Dhaka.