Bangladeshi MP Tulip Siddiq jailed after trial in absentia

Labor MP and former minister Tulip Siddiq was sentenced in absentia to two years in jail on corruption charges in Bangladesh along with 16 others.

She was found guilty of influencing her aunt, Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, to obtain a plot of land for her family on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka, a claim she vehemently denies.

Siddique, who lives in London, has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is unlikely to serve any jail time.

The sitting MP for Hampstead and Highgate continues to face a number of outstanding charges in Bangladesh.

Since the overthrow of Hasina’s regime, Bangladeshi prosecutors have launched a series of wide-ranging legal cases against the former leader, her past associates and family members.

Trial involving Siddique – who Resigned as finance minister in January amid controversy revolves around her relationship with her aunt – which has been playing out in Dhaka since August.

Court documents include claims that Siddique “forced and influenced her aunt and former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to use her special powers to secure (a piece of land) for her mother Rehana Siddique, sister Azmina Siddique and brother Radwan Siddique.”

A prosecutor from Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) previously said Siddique was being tried as a Bangladeshi citizen because authorities obtained her Bangladeshi passport, identity card and tax number.

Siddique’s lawyer questioned whether she was a Bangladeshi citizen, telling the Financial Times that she had “never had” an identity card or a voter ID card and had “not held a passport since she was a child”.

She was sentenced to two years in prison and fined 100,000 Bangladeshi taka ($821; £620) by Judge Rabiul Alam. If she fails to pay, six months will be added to her sentence.

As the trial began, the congressman said prosecutors were “peddling false and vexatious accusations that have been briefed to the media but never formally raised with me by investigators”.

A statement from her continued: “I have been clear from the beginning that I have done nothing wrong and will respond to any credible evidence presented to me. Continuing to smear my name to score political points is unfounded and harmful.”

She has not commented publicly since the verdict was announced.

Last week, a group of senior lawyers raised concerns with Bangladesh’s representative in the UK over the way the trial was being conducted.

Signatories of the statement include former justice minister Robert Buckland, former justice secretary Dominic Grieve and human rights lawyer Dame Cherie Blair, wife of former prime minister Sir Tony Blair.

In a letter first reported The GuardianThey said Siddique failed to receive proper legal representation during the trial, adding: “Such a process is contrived and represents an artificial and unfair method of prosecution.”

The verdict has come Two weeks after Hasina was sentenced to death in separate trial Her role in the brutal crackdown on protests eventually forced her to step down in July 2024.

She was convicted of crimes against humanity for causing the deaths of approximately 1,400 people at the hands of police.

The trial is being held in Hasina’s absence as she has been living in exile in India since her deportation. She denies the accusations.

Siddiq’s mother, the former prime minister’s sister, continues to face multiple pending charges in Bangladesh, including two ongoing trials related to the charges at the heart of Monday’s verdict.

She is also under investigation for allegedly transferring an apartment in a lucrative area of ​​Dhaka to her sister.

Last week, Hasina was tried in absentia along with her two children and sentenced to 21 years in prison over a land deal in the capital’s Purbachal area, a case that was heard concurrently with Siddique’s case.

Siddique and his family are also being investigated over alleged corruption related to a £3.9bn deal in 2013 for a Russian-funded nuclear power plant.

Siddiq has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in relation to the allegations, which stem from allegations made by Hasina’s political rival Bobby Hajjaj.

Bangladeshi authorities say they estimate some $234bn (£174bn) was embezzled through corruption during Hasina’s rule.

Responding to the latest verdict, Hasina’s Awami League party said it was “completely foreseeable” and “strongly denied” the allegations against the former prime minister and his family.

“This process fails any reasonable test of judicial impartiality – a point that has been strongly pointed out by local and international legal experts,” the party said.

Hasina also accused Bangladesh’s judiciary of being controlled by “an unelected government led by political opponents of the Awami League”, the interim government led by Dr Muhammad Yunus.

Before Siddique resigned from the UK government, Sir Laurie Magnus, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s independent ethics adviser, said an investigation had found “no evidence of wrongdoing”.

However, he said it was “regrettable” that Siddique was not more alert to the “potential reputational risks” of her relationship with Hasina.

While Siddique continued to insist she had done nothing wrong, she resigned as a junior minister to avoid becoming a “distraction” to the government.

The UK does not have an extradition treaty with Bangladesh. It is classified as a 2B country, meaning clear evidence needs to be provided to lawyers and judges to authorize any extradition.

Although Dhaka authorities issued an arrest warrant, authorities did not force Siddique to return to Dhaka to face trial.