The MP for Hampstead and Highgate continues to face a number of outstanding charges in Bangladesh
A court in Bangladesh has sentenced British Labour MP Tulip Siddiq to two years in prison for corruption involving a government land project, alongside ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is Siddiq’s aunt.
Hasina received a sentence of five years in prison while her niece, who denies all allegations levied against her, was absent from proceedings in Dhaka.
Dhaka Special Judge’s Court judge Rabiul Alam said that Hasina misused her power as prime minister, AP reports, while Siddiq was guilty of corruptly influencing her aunt in helping her mother get a piece of land in a government project.
Siddiq’s mother Sheikh Rehana was also handed down a jail sentence of seven years. She is considered the prime participant in the case.
Hasina has been in exile in India since she was ousted by a mass uprising last year. The trial and others against her were conducted in absentia.
Ms Siddiq’s lawyers previously said: “The ACC has made various allegations against Ms Siddiq through the media in the last few months. The allegations are completely false and have been dealt with in writing by Ms Siddiq’s lawyers.
“The ACC has not responded to Ms Siddiq or put any allegations to her directly or through her lawyers. Ms Siddiq knows nothing about a hearing in Dhaka relating to her and she has no knowledge of any arrest warrant that is said to have been issued.
“To be clear, there is no basis at all for any charges to be made against her, and there is absolutely no truth in any allegation that she received a plot of land in Dhaka through illegal means. She has never had a plot of land in Bangladesh, and she has never influenced any allocation of plots of land to her family members or anyone else.
“No evidence has been provided by the ACC to support this or any other allegation made against Ms Siddiq, and it is clear to us that the charges are politically motivated.”
